EATONVILLE — The Olympic Crosscutters opened their existence with a championship, winning the Cruiser/Lake Monster Classic wooden bat tournament over the weekend.
Speed was the key for the Crosscutters, a American Legion AA 18U baseball team of players from Sequim, Port Angeles, Chimacum and Quilcene.
“Our aggressive base running throughout the whole tournament played a huge part, as we had 23 stolen bases in four games,” Crosscutters coach John Qualls said.
“We kept more pressure on our opponents, far more than what was played on us.
“We had seven stolen bases in the championship game alone, which provided the edge needed to pull out the win and give us our first tournament win [in] the inaugural season of Crosscutters baseball.
“I have never been blessed with as much speed as we have this year. As long as we find our way on base, we will provide all the pressure that teams can handle.”
The Crosscutters went 3-1 during the two-day tournament played at Eatonville and Spanaway Lake high schools.
They opened with an 8-2 win over Spanaway Lake AA 17U on Saturday.
Gavin Velarde (Sequim) was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Daniel Harker (Sequim) went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Lane Dotson (Chimacum) also had two hits and drove in a run, and little brother Cole Dotson singled, stole two bases and drove in a run.
Ian Dennis (Sequim) and A.J. Prater (Quilcene) also drove in runs.
Nigel Christian (Sequim) started for the Crosscutters and struck out three in two innings, and Nick Faunce (Sequim) fanned four in two innings of relief.
Three other pitchers took the mound for one inning.
Logan Hankinson (Sequim) struck out two, allowed on hit and an unearned run; Eli Harrison (Quilcene) struck out two and didn’t give up a hit; and Jake Sparks (Sequim) struck out one and allowed one hit.
The Crosscutters dropped their second game 6-2 to Olympic High School’s AA team on Saturday.
Velarde went 2 for 4 with three stolen bases and an RBI, and Prater, Austin Hilliard (Sequim), Lane Dotson and Blake Mann (Port Angeles) each contributed a hit.
Lane Dotson started on the mound and gave up five runs on nine hits while striking out four.
Harker, Dane Bradow (Port Angeles) and Faunce pitched in relief.
On Sunday, the Crosscutters defeated Elma 10-1 to earn a spot in the championship game.
Hilliard, Hankinson and Sparks combined to strike out six batters and hold Elma to one run.
For the third straight game, Velarde had two hits. He also stole three bases and drove in two runs.
Bradow added two hits and stole two bases while driving in three runs.
Logan Shaw (Chimacum) walked twice and stole two runs, and Hilliard had a hit, an RBI and two steals.
In Sunday’s championship game, the Crosscutters edged Spanaway Lake AAA 19U 5-4.
Christian tossed a complete game, striking out eight while allowing four hits, two walks and one earned run.
“Our youthful inexperienced showed up in the championship game, as we committed six errors,” Qualls said.
“Mentally, we are able to wash the error out of our minds and prepare for the next pitch without hesitation.
“This is one mentally tough and competitive group of young men.”
Shaw paced the offense with two hits, two steals and three RBIs.
Prater was 1 for 4 with an RBI and two stolen bases.
The Crosscutters next play Gig Harbor on Saturday at noon at Sequim High School.
Qualls is excited about the depth of the Crosscutters, who are made of up 18 players (and three more on the reserve roster) ages 14-17.
“We are strong all the way through this roster,” Qualls said.
“We can go to the bench with confidence and plug anyone into the game and we won’t skip a beat in our game plan.”
Wilder Baseball opens 1-3
LONGVIEW — Wilder Baseball started its season with a 5-2 win over Sandberg Baseball but then dropped three straight over the weekend at Lower Columbia College.
“Just good test for us. Good teams, great pitchers,” Wilder coach Mike Politika said.
“Our kids played well, played hard. Our pitchers, for the most part, threw great games.”
Janson Pederson (Port Angeles) earned the win by pitching a solid six innings for Wilder in the opener against Sandberg on Saturday.
Ricky Crawford (Port Angeles) relieved Pederson and pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Brady Konopaski (Port Angeles) ripped a triple that sparked the scoring for Wilder, a Senior Babe Ruth team made up of Port Angeles and Sequim players ages 16-19.
Larsson Chapman (Port Angeles) and Eathen Boyer (Port Angeles) also had hits.
Wilder was held to two hits in a 4-0 loss in its second game Saturday.
Evan Hurn (Sequim) and Boyer had Wilder’s hits.
Travis Paynter (Port Angeles) went six innings on the mound, striking out two, walking four and allowing eight hits and four runs.
Wilder played Pac Tech closer Sunday morning but fell 4-3.
“It was a little better game,” Politika said.
Wilder pounded out 11 hits in the game. Zach Withrow (Port Angeles) had two hits and a run, Konopaski had a hit and drove in a run, and Tanner Gochnour (Port Angeles) and Boyer added hits.
Tanner Rhodefer (Sequim) started for Wilder, allowing eight hits and three runs in five innings.
Angevine pitched two innings of relief and gave up one run on three hits.
Wilder was blanked 5-0 in its final game of the weekend by Centralia Sobe Toyota on Sunday.
James Grubb (Sequim) pitched five scoreless innings for Wilder, but Centralia plated four in the sixth off Boyer and one in the seventh off Angevine.
Wilder was held to one hit, a single by Chapman.
Wilder was scheduled to face North Kitsap AAA on Friday, but the game has been rescheduled to next Tuesday at Civic Field at 6 p.m.
That means Wilder next plays a pair of doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday against Sandberg Baseball, which is coached by former Port Angeles High School and Wilder standout Eric Lane. The games both days start at noon and 3 p.m.
