PORT ANGELES — Wilder Senior didn’t play its cleanest game, but rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to gut out a hard-fought 9-6 win over the Centerfield Roosters in their second game of the Firecracker Invitational at Civic Field.
Wilder Senior is undefeated in two games so far and played in two games Sunday after press deadline. Meanwhile, Wilder Junior had a pair of tough losses Saturday, one a close hard-fought 10-7 defeat to Baseball Beyond Borders and the other a game that was close until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Roosters blew up for eight runs to win 11-1.
“Today was a perfect example of our guys’ ability to dig down and grind out a win when we weren’t playing our best. At times we struggled offensively and defensively but we found enough in the tank to work through our shortfalls,” said Wilder Senior coach Karl Myers. “It’s fun coaching winning teams but it’s even more rewarding coaching teams that don’t quit and can play through some adversity. Tonight, we battled some mishaps here and there but came together as a group and got it done.”
There were 10 errors in the game with Wilder Senior making four and the Roosters six.
Kole Milyard was the big hero for Wilder Senior with a three-run double, a run and four RBIs total. Matt Hendry had two hits with a run, RBI and two stolen bases.
Myers also said Gavin Guerrero had a solid game with two hits and two runs scored.
“Offensively, Gavin again stayed hot with his second consecutive multi-hit game. He’s had a great approach the last few games and continues to put great [at-bats] together.also had two hits with two runs scored,” he said.
Jadon Seibel got the win for Wilder Senior, going three innings and giving up five earned runs on just three hits. Brady Shimko pitched great over the next three innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out two and giving up zero runs. Tate Gahimer picked up the save with a hitless seventh inning.
“Shimko did a phenomenal job out of the pen tonight coming in and filling the zone up with three pitches, he got us back on track and into the dugout in three consecutive innings and helped shift the momentum back to us. It’s been great to see him pitch with such confidence as of late, he comes out of the pen with a bulldog mentality and wants the ball in big situations,” said Myers.
Wilder Sr. 9, Centerfield 6
Wilder 3 3 0 0 0 3 0 — 9 10 4
Roosters 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 — 6 4 6
WP: Seibel SV: Gahimer
Pitching
Wilder Sr. — Seibel 3IP, 3H, 5ER, K, 7BB; Shimko 3IP, H, 2K, 0ER, BB; Gahimer 1IP, BB, 0ER.
Hitting
Wilder Sr. — Hendry 2-4, R, RBI, 2SB; Milyard 1-3, R, 4RBI; Jackson 1-4, 2R, RBI; Gahimer 1-3, RBI, BB; Guerrero 2-3, 2R, BB; Moody 1-4, R.
BBB 10, Wilder Jr. 7
PORT ANGELES — Wilder Jr. played Baseball Beyond Borders tough, but coach Rob Merritt said five errors were too many to overcome in a 10-7 loss.
Ethan Flodstrom was 2 for 3 with a run and two RBIs, while Timmy Adams was 3 for 4 with two RBIs.
Pitcher Slater Bradley went five innings and gave up eight runs, but only four of those runs were earned. He gave up eight hits, two walks and struck out three.
Merritt said Wilder Junior didn’t play well defensively, in particular when the ball was in the air. He said when Junior team is playing older teams, they simply can’t afford to make mistakes.
BBB 10, Wilder Jr. 7
BBB 1 1 4 2 0 2 0 — 10 9 3
WJr. 0 4 2 0 0 1 0 — 7 10 5
WP: LP:
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Bradley 5IP, 8H, 3K, 2BB, 4ER; Merritt 1IP, K, B, H, 2ER; Walker 1IP, 1H, 0R.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Flodstrom 2-3, R, 2RBI; Adams 3-4, 2RBIs, Bradley 1-2, R, RBI.
Centerfield 11, Wilder Jr. 1
Though the score doesn’t reflect it, this was actually a close game until late. Wilder Junior was trailing just 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Centerfield erupted for eight runs to win going away. Merritt said it was an accumulation of a couple of walks, a couple of bunts by Centerfield and an error led to the big inning.
Adams’ final line wasn’t great because of the fifth inning, but he pitched outstanding for four innings, completely shutting down Centerfield in the second, third and fourth innings after giving up three runs in the first.
“We were right there with them. You just can’t have mental lapses when you’re playing older teams,” said coach Merritt.
Wilder Junior played a pair of games Sunday after press deadline (including a game against Wilder Senior).
The Firecracker Invitational will continue play at 10 a.m. today with the top four teams playing in elimination games. The championship game will be held at 4 p.m. today.
Centerfield 11, Wilder Jr. 1
Roosters 3 0 0 0 8 — 11 11 2
WJr. 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 1 3
LP: Adams
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Adams 4.1IP, 9H 4BB, 8ER; Walker 0.2IP, R, 2H.
