Suffering its second defeat in as many days after a first round win, I-5 Toyota Mountain Dew fell out of the AA American Legion state tournament bracket after a 13-9 loss to CDA Lumbermen Monday in Selah.
Mountain Dew couldn’t bounce back after a tough loss Sunday night to the Yakima Peppers, as defensive issues continued to plague them despite hotter bats.
It was a back and forth affair east of the mountains Monday, with the teams trading blows with runs in just about every inning.
Tied at 7-7 heading to the fifth, Mountain Dew came up with a goose egg in the top of the inning, and the Lumbermen responded with six runs to take a commanding lead. Mountain Dew was able to shrink the deficit to four after two runs in the sixth, but couldn’t put any more across in the seventh to keep their season alive.
Mountain Dew committed three costly errors over the course of the game, and walked four in the decisive fifth inning.
Austin Chapman and Conner Holmes each had three hits for Mountain Dew, who racked up 14 as a team, and Avery Staloh and Tate Quarnstrom each added two RBIs. Asher Guerrero, Ashton Demarest, Hyde Parrish, and Lane Sahlin also each added an RBI.
“Everybody was hitting, we just didn't get the timely hit,” coach Kyle Sprague said. “We left nine on base, six of those nine were in scoring position.”
Holmes got the starting nod on the bump and went 4 ⅓ innings, allowing nine runs with five of them earned on six walks and five hits. Holmes also struck out three. Quarnstrom relieved Holmes for an inning and ⅔, with four unearned runs on three walks and two hits and two strikeouts.
Despite a rough ending, it was a successful summer season for Mountain Dew, who maybe got hot just a bit too soon after a strong showing at the Brian Cox Tournament.
“It was a fun year to watch some of these guys grow,” Sprague said. “It took awhile for us to gel and get to know each other, but once things started clicking and we found some consistency in our lineup, we got hot. But it looks like we peaked a week too early.”
