SUMNER — Wilder Junior rolled through stiff competition to go 5-0 overall and claim the championship at the #EarnIt Tournament at Sumner High School over the weekend.
“We finally played up to our potential in this one,” coach Rob Merritt said. “I was telling the parents and the kids that we had three really good practices heading into the tournament and I think that carried over.”
“We beat some really good teams and I was shocked that we really beat them up. We just shuffled guys around and didn’t miss a beat. As a coach that depth is a luxury.”
In the championship game, Wilder Junior pushed to a 10-0 lead to top Easton Baseball 12-6.
“They had a big pitcher, 6-foot-3 or so, who could throw it in the low 80s [MPH],” Merritt said.
“He got two outs on us, but then he walked a guy, hit a guy and Brody Merritt hit a three-run double to the gap. That was big.”
Wilder added seven runs in the second.
“The next inning he struggled and we played some small ball and put some runs up.”
Timmy Adams earned the win on the mound in the championship after struggling in Wilder’s 9-5 semifinal win over Boys of Summer of Bellevue.
“Before the game we had a good chat about how we needed a little more from him, and about the mental part of the game and he came out and was a different player,” Merritt said.
Adams struck out four in 3 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks.
Merritt ended up with four RBIs and two of the team’s 10 walks. Tyler Bowen had two hits and scored twice, Lucas Jarnagin added an RBI single and two runs, Tanner Lunt had an RBI single and a run and Michael Grubb came through with an RBI double and a walk.
Wilder rallied from a 5-3 deficit in its semifinal win over Boys of Summer.
“Timmy started on the mound and struggled with a tight zone,” Merritt said.
Adams was chased after allowing five runs on four hits and six walks in two innings. Brody Merritt came on and scattered a hit and three walks in four innings, allowing no runs and striking out seven to get the win.
Merritt also had a three-run double at the plate. Slater Bradley had two hits and scored twice, Milo Whitman had two hits, three runs and a pair of RBIs and Lunt had two hits, scored a run and drove in two.
Wilder Junior raced through pool play, dropping the TC Saints 9-1, beating Laces of Everett 11-3 and knocking off Impact Sports of Poulsbo 20-7 in four innings.
Slater Bradley was 3 for 4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs against TC Saints, and also went four innings on the mound, allowing a run on two hits and five walks while striking out five. Merritt closed out the win, striking out four in two perfect innings.
Jarnagin went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI and Merritt doubled, walked twice, scored twice and drove in two runs.
A seven-run sixth inning pushed Wilder past Laces. Ethan Flodstrom was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, Jarnagin doubled twice, scored and drove in two runs, Nathan Miller had two hits, including a double, and scored and drove in a run.
Jarnagin also pitched five innings, allowing three runs on two hits and five walks while striking out five. Merritt struck out one in the final frame.
Having clinched a semifinal berth, everybody got to play against Impact Sports.
Adams had two hits, including a double, scored three runs and drove in five to lead the offense. Seth Mann went 2 for 3 with a double, a run and two RBIs and Miller had two hits, scored three runs and drove in a pair.
Wilder Junior will play in the 16U division at the Clackamas and Clark Collegiate Showcase this weekend in Oregon.
