PORT ANGELES — The Wilder Senior Baseball Club didn’t get the chance to either host or win their home Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Classic over the Fourth of July holiday in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wilder made up for lost time this Fourth of July weekend, capping off a near-perfect performance in the annual tournament with a 10-0 win over the Riverdogs squad Sunday night to win the championship.
Wilder not only went 6-0 in the tournament, it completely dominated every game, 10-running five out of six opponents and outscoring the opposition by 74-12 — winning each game by an average score of 12-2.
Coach Zac Moore said the team played well in every aspect of the game.
“Our team played amazing in every way,” he said. “When you can go 6-0 and score over 60 runs in a tournament, you’re doing pretty good.”
Wilder Sr. got off to a bit of a slow start in the AAA league play, going 1-3, albeit against teams with a lot of college-bound players from bigger schools in Bellingham and Bellevue. But they are red-hot now.
“It feels like we’re all coming together. Everyone gets along. Everyone is buddies,” Moore said.
Landon Seibel hit a towering solo home run against the Riverdogs.
“It was a 1-0 count, I saw it right down the middle in and I took it for a ride,” he said.
Seibel also said the tournament win was rewarding after Wilder couldn’t play baseball last summer.
“We put in a lot of work. It shows that hard work pays off. It shows what we can be as a team,” he said.
In the title game, pitcher John Vaara was nearly untouchable, going the full six innings and allowing only two hits, one hit batsman and one walk. He struck out three.
Ty Bradow also had two hits and two RBIs, while Trey Baysinger had a pair of hits, and Adam Watkins had two hits and a run scored.
Tournament MVP Jacob Felton continued with his hot bat, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Wyatt Hall has had an even hotter bat. He went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs. It was Hall’s two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning that made it 10-0, ending the game and the tournament.
How scorching were these three hitters? Over the final three games of the tournament, Hall went 8-for-9 with eight RBIs, six runs scored and two triples. Felton went 6-for-10 with a home run, a triple, two doubles, six runs scored and three RBIs. Seibel went 5-for-8 with a home run, two doubles, six runs scored and six RBIs.
In addition to Felton’s MVP award, Hall, playing near-flawless shortstop, was awarded the tournament’s Gold Glove award while Wilder’s Logan Olson was named the Silver Slugger.
Semifinal game
Wilder cracked 18 hits, including six doubles, to win the semifinal 18-6 over the WBS Colts Black squad.
Hall went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBIs and a walk, while Felton went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Bradow went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Olson went 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI. Seibel went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Michael Grubb went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Baysinger and Kamron Meadows each hit doubles.
Wilder Sr. traveled Monday to a tournament in Eureka, Calif., where they begin play today.
Wilder 18, WBS Colts Black 6
WBS 0 0 5 1 0 — 6 8 1
WSr. 4 5 0 9 X — 18 18 0
WP: Olson. LP: DeSousa.
Pitching
WBS — DeSousa IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 2 BB; Bianchi 3 IP, 11 H, 7 ER.
WSr. — Olson 4 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Grubb IP, 3 H, 0 ER.
Hitting
WBS — Thomas 2-3, 2 RBI; Calhoun 2-3, R, RBI; Duthie 1-2, R, RBI; Guzman 1-3 R.
WSr. — Felton 3-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI; Hall 3-3, 3 R, 2 RBI; Seibel 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI; Bradow 2-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB; Grubb 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI; Olson 2-4, 2B, 3 R, RBI; Meadows 1-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB; Price 1-3, R, RBI; Baysinger 1-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI.
Wilder Sr. 10, River Dogs 0
Dogs 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 0
WSr. 2 0 4 0 1 3 — 10 13 3
WP: Vaara. LP: Correia.
Pitching
Dogs — Correia 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB; Bingham IP, 4 H, 2 ER; Gustafson 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB.
WSr. — Vaara 6 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K.
Hitting
Dogs — MacDonald 1-2; Lindrey 1-3.
WSr. — Seibel 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI; Felton 2-3, 2B, 3 R, HBP, SB; Hall 3-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, SB; Bradow 2-3, 2 RBI, SB; Baysinger 2-3; Watkins 2-3, R; Olson 0-2, R, BB.
Logan Olson of Wilder Sr. fires a pitch to the plate against the WBS Colts Black team in Sunday’s semifinal. Wilder won 18-6 to move on to the championship game later that night, which Wilder also won 10-0 over the Riverdogs. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
