CHEHALIS — The Port Angeles boys baseball team ran into a buzzsaw by the name of Hunter Lutman in their state 2A baseball opener, getting no-hit in a 10-0 loss to W.F. West.
With the loss, the Roughriders finish their season with a 15-7-1 record, qualifying for state with nine freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
Lutman just didn’t allow the Riders any momentum, striking out six in his six-inning no-hitter. The only baserunner he allowed was when he hit Kaleb Mullen with a pitch.
W.F. West also won its next game 8-5 against White River and is in the state semifinals. W.F. West at 19-5 is the No. 3-ranked team in the state in Ratings Percentage Index.
Meanwhile, the Port Angeles pitchers did their best to keep the Riders in the game. They allowed only three runs through four innings as Port Angeles got out of a couple of big jams, staying right in the game until the fifth, down just 3-0. The Bearcats were finally able to break through with four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to pull away.
Kole Acker started, going two innings and allowing two earned runs on one hit. He struck out one. He got out of a bases-loaded one-out jam in the first inning, allowing just one run to score on a sac fly.
Rylen Politika also did a good job in the fourth inning. He came in to pitch after the Bearcats got a leadoff triple and kept W.F. West from scoring in the inning. Brian Guttormsen didn’t allow a hit or a run in two-thirds of an inning pitched.
Port Angeles pitchers only allowed eight hits but did walk 14 batters. First basemen Ezra Townsend also made a solid play, nailing a runner at home trying to come in to score.
It was the final game for seniors Blake Merideth, Tanner Jacobsen, Elijah Flodstrom, Kole Acker and Weston Alward, but some of these players can be expected to play for the Wilder American Legion Baseball Club this summer.
W.F. West 10, Port Angeles 0
PA 0 0 0 0 0 0 X — 0 0 1
WFW 1 1 1 0 4 3 X — 10 8 0
Pitching
Port Angeles — Acker 2 IP, H, 2 ER, K; Sohberg IP, 3 H, ER, K; Politika IP, H, 2 ER; Romero 0.1 IP, ER, K; Guttormsen 0.2 IP, Mullen 0.1 3 H, 3 ER.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Mullen, HBP
