CLACKAMAS, Ore. — Wilder Baseball captured second place at the prestigious 12-team Diamond Classic at Clackamas High School on Sunday.
The elite North Olympic Peninsula Senior Babe Ruth team, 12-9 overall, went 2-2 in the 12th annual tournament to go 12-4 in its last 16 games after starting the season 0-5.
In perhaps its best game of the year, Wilder beat Westview of Portland, Ore., 3-0 in the semifinals.
Westview High School won the Oregon Class 6A championship a few weeks ago.
The Port Angeles-based team ran out of steam after the semifinals, losing 7-5 to Yakima Pepsi Pak in the Diamond Classic championship game.
Westview featured the top-ranked Oregon prep baseball player in Carson Kelly, who is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound incoming senior who pitches and plays the infield, including shortstop, first base and third base.
“Carson is known more as a shortstop but he can pitch 93 miles-per-hour,” Wilder coach Rob Merritt said.
Port Angeles didn’t have to face Kelly the pitcher but still managed only four hits in the semifinal game.
The difference was Wilder’s secret weapon: A.J. Konopaski.
Konopaski (3-3) threw a complete seven-inning game, earning the shutout while giving up just four hits while striking out nine and walking just one.
“That was Konopaski’s best game of the year,” Merritt said. “He has had two real good outings.”
Easton Napiontek carried the big bat, going 1-for-2 with a triple and RBI, and scoring a run.
Chimacum’s Austin McConnell went 1-for-1 with two walks and an RBI while Konopaski helped his own cause by going 1-for-2 with an RBI.
In the championship game, Yakima took a 5-0 lead and never looked back.
Wilder scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning to chase a tough pitcher from Spokane Community College, right-hander D.J. Smith, to trail by only 5-4.
But Yakima scored two more runs in the fifth to cruise to the win.
Cody Sullivan and Napiontek both went 2-for-4 in the game with Sullivan hitting a run in and scoring his own run while Napiontek also had an RBI.
“We hit the ball well during the tournament but we made some costly errors that just killed us,” Merritt said.
Wilder now takes a week off before hosting the 10-team Senior Babe Ruth regional championships starting on July 20.
Diamond Classic semifinals
Wilder 3,
Westview (Portland, Ore.) 0
Westview 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 0
Wilder 1 0 0 0 2 0 x — 3 4 1
WP- Konopaski (3-3); LP- Suyams
Pitching Statistics
Westview: Suyams 6IP, 3R, 4H.
Wilder: Konopaski 7 IP, 0R, 4H, 9K, BB, HBP.
Hitting Statistics
Wilder: Napiontek 1-2, 3B, R, RBI; McConnell 1-1, 2BB, RBI; Konopaski 1-2, RBI.
Diamond Classic championship
Yakima 7, Wilder 5
Wilder 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 — 5 7 3
Yakima 2 0 3 0 2 0 x — 7 8 2
WP- Smith; LP- Napiontek (2-2)
Pitching Statistics
Wilder: Napiontek 3IP, 5R, 3ER, 5H, K, BB, HB; Senf 3IP, 2ER, 3H, 4K, 2BB.
Yakima: Smith 4 IP.
Hitting Statistics
Wilder: Sullivan 2-4, R, RBI; Napiontek 2-4, RBI.
