Powered by stout pitching to stay alive in the Dylan Baker Memorial Tournament, the RBI Riverpigs picked up two wins, 9-0 over the Centerfield Wolves and 10-3 over the Centerfield Barn Birds, on Saturday.
Naselle’s Trajen Ford and Angel Becerra out of Rainier, Ore. combined to allow three hits, zero earned runs and eight strikeouts in the wins. Head coach J.C. Workman stated Ford was “excellent” on the mound.
“Making batters jump out of their shoes at the pitches he wanted them to swing at,” Workman added.
RBI scored three runs in the top of the second, two in the third and a four-run fourth to secure a comfortable cushion. It also was aided by nine errors by the Wolves.
Nolan Scott (Kalama), Tom Settlemier (Toutle Lake) and Oliver Foster (Toutle Lake) combined for four hits and five runs scored.
“Our hitters were patient at the plate,” Workman said. “We did a good job of not trying to do too much.”
The offense outburst continued versus the Barn Birds thanks to a seven-run bottom of the fourth that turned a two-run lead into nine. Ilwaco’s Corbin Johnson drove in four runs while the Chehalis trio of Daylin Rowland, Brodie Mitchell and Jack Muller all recorded an RBI.
Sunday marked the final day of the tournament and RBI ended it with a 4-1 setback to the Centerfield Roosters in the semifinals.
The lone run came in the top of the fifth to trim a 2-0 margin in half. The Roosters added two runs in the bottom half for insurance.
Four hits was all the Riverpigs could muster, two of them by Ilwaco’s Haddox Hazen.
“We put runners on the bases time and time again, but couldn’t break the seal,” Workman said. “Our guys represented themselves well this weekend.”
