The Toledo baseball team clinched its return to the 2B state tournament Friday in dominant fashion, run-ruling Kalama 15-5 in six innings in a loser-out, winner-clinches game in the district tournament at Adna.
“We had to do whatever we had to do to get into State today, and we found a way,” Toledo coach Mack Gaul said.
The Riverhawks had to do it without ace Caiden Schultz on the mound. In his place, they went with Rogan Stanley, who went four strong innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Kaven Winters went the rest of the way on the hill, getting the final five outs.
Meanwhile, Toledo’s bats showed up in the big way that they hadn’t in their semifinal loss to Ilwaco.
“The whole conversation going in was that we had been too tight, worried about making mistakes the past two games,” Gaul said. “The message was to go out there and have fun.”
The Riverhawks certainly hit like they were having fun. Schultz made the most of his title as designated hitter, going 4 for 5 with three doubles, five RBIs, and three runs scored. At the bottom of the lineup, Rohan Feigenbaum went 3 for 4 with a pair of two-baggers, driving in three runs and scoring two.
As a team, Toledo racked up 12 hits. The Riverhawks sprung for seven runs in the bottom of the third to jump out to an 8-0 lead.
“That was a good inning,” Gaul said. “We ran the bases well, hit the ball well, and took advantage of their mistakes.”
Toledo added four in the fifth and three in the sixth, walking off on Schultz’s final double of the day, which plated a pair and put them ahead by 10.
With their State ticket punched, the Riverhawks will get one more game this weekend, taking on Adna at W.F. West on Saturday in a third-place game entirely for seeding purposes.
“It’s another game of baseball,” Elam said. “It’s another game for our guys to go out and prove what we have.”
