I-5 Toyota/Mountain Dew dropped its final rehearsal before the State dance Wednesday, falling 8-5 to Kelso Premier in Cowlitz County.
The Dewers led 4-2 after a four-run inning in the top of the third and stretched it to 5-2 in the fourth, but Kelso ended the game with six unanswered runs in the final three frames.
Brady Sprague (Centralia), Miles Martin (W.F. West), and Alex Stafford (W.F. West) all worked two innings on the mound for I5TMD, giving up a combined 10 hits and six walks. Five errors in the field behind them meant that just five of the runs they allowed were earned.
At the plate, Napavine’s Conner Holmes continued his hot summer with a 3-for-4 outing at the top of the lineup. Rochester’s Tate Quarnstrom finished 2 for 3, but the rest of the I-5 lineup combined for just two base hits.
I5TMD will get going in the American Legion State Championship on Saturday, taking on the Othello Red Raiders at Burlington-Edison High School’s Tiger Field to open the double-elimination tournament.
