TENINO — Notched up at 1-1, Tenino baseball surrendered four runs to Elma in the top of the seventh inning and wasn’t able to punch back in a 5-1 loss at home on Friday.
It was a disappointing loss for a Beavers team that has now dropped two in a row after ripping off a six-game winning streak.
“It felt like a playoff game, and had a lot of playoff implications,” Tenino coach Ryan Schlesser said.
The Beavers (11-6, 6-3 1A Evergreen) now finish the regular season with a three-game series against league-leading Montesano. Tenino needs to win just one of those to finish second in league heading into the 1A District 4 tournament.
It was a pitcher’s duel between Tenino’s Brody Noonan and Elma’s Andrew Sanders for the first six innings as both offenses were only able to plate one run each — in the third inning.
But the Eagles came alive in the top of the seventh, when Noonan had to be taken out after reaching a pitch count of 105 with one out and one runner on base.
The Eagles took advantage, loading the bases before drawing a walk to take the lead for good. Elma then hit an RBI single and scored twice more on an error followed by a wild pitch to go up 5-1. Tenino’s Carson Hart and Brody Noonan each singled in the bottom of the seventh but were left stranded as the Beavers took the loss.
“We tried to make some noise in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t,” Schlesser said. “Hats off to Elma. They made a couple more plays than us and came out on top.”
Well Feltus (2 for 3) and Noonan (2 for 2) led the Beavers offense with two hits each, while Cody Strawn was 1 for 4, Hart was 1 for 3 and Jack Burkhardt scored the lone run.
Noonan’s solid outing was spoiled as the righty fanned nine batters across 6 ⅓ innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and three walks. Snider allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks with one K in ⅔ of an inning.
“Brody threw a gem,” Schlesser said.
Gibson Cain led Elma by going 3 for 4 at the plate with a run and an RBI. Sanders went all seven innings for a complete-game win, striking out three while allowing six hits and one walk.
Tenino has already clinched a district playoff spot one season after winning just two games. The Beavers finish the regular season with Montesano, starting with a doubleheader at home on Tuesday, followed by their regular-season finale on May 6.
