TACOMA — A wave of walks, 12 in total, by Cowboys starting pitcher Ryley Eldridge did in Chimacum in a Class 1A West Central District semifinal loss to the Vikings.
“It was the worst game we’ve played all season,” Cowboys assistant coach Jim Eldridge said after Friday’s game.
“And it came at the worst possible time.
“You’re never going to win with 12 walks, but our focus wasn’t there. We weren’t aggressive enough at the plate, the lines we took defensively weren’t good. I could go on and on.”
Chimacum remained competitive with Bellevue Christian through the first four innings, as the lead changed hands three times.
A solo home run by Shanya Nisbet pulled the Cowboys within two at 6-4 through four innings.
Nisbet was a bright spot for Chimacum, going 4 for 4 with a double, three RBIs and three runs.
“Shanya really helped us stay in it for as long as we did,” Eldridge said.
“She had a fantastic game.”
The Cowboys were undone by a seven-run fifth inning by the Vikings.
Eldridge walked two batters, allowed a bunt single to load the bases and yielded a sacrifice fly to push the Bellevue Christian advantage to 7-4.
Another walk reloaded the bags before a grand-slam home run to deep left-center by Becca Jewett chased Eldridge and put the Vikings up 11-4.
Jewett later added an inside-the-park home run as Bellevue Christian padded its lead in the sixth and final frame.
The Cowboys (12-6) will face Klahowya (14-7) in a loser-out, winner-to-state contest Monday at 11 a.m.
Chimacum beat the Eagles two out of three times this season, with all games decided by two runs or less.
Bellevue Christian 18, Chimacum 6, 6 innings
Bell. Christian 1 1 3 0 7 6 — 18 16 0
Chimacum 2 0 0 0 0 1 — 6 9 3
WP- Pippel; LP- Eldridge
Pitching Statistics
Bellevue Christian: Pippel 6 IP, 6 R, 9 H, 3 BB, 2 HB, 6 K.
Chimacum: Eldridge 4 1/3 IP, 11 R, 6 H,12 BB, 5 K; Snider 1 2/3 IP, 7 R, 10 H, 0 BB, 2 K.
Hitting Statistics
Bellevue Christian: Jewett 2-3, BB, 3 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI;
Chimacum: S. Nisbet 4-4, HR, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI; Carthum 2-3, 2 RBI; Nelson 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 R.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
