The Centralia baseball team came out on top in a wild back-and-forth matchup against Aberdeen on Tuesday, topping the Bobcats 9-8 in nine innings.
“Two pretty evenly matched teams,” Centralia coach Jake LeDuc said. “They fought and never gave up.”
Centralia (2-1, 1-0 2A EvCo) took a 2-0 lead right out of the gate, but Aberdeen tied it in the bottom of the second.
After the Tigers scored three in the fourth, Aberdeen again responded with two in the fifth, and they took a 7-6 lead with three in the bottom of the sixth.
Landen Jenkins tied the game in the seventh with an RBI single. After a scoreless eighth, sophomore Jake Johnson, who started just his second career varsity game, came through with a two-run double that went on to stand as the game winner.
The Bobcats got within one in the bottom of the ninth, but Marcus Miller finished off the game with a strikeout.
Miller went three and two thirds on the bump, allowing just three hits and two runs (one earned) while walking none and striking out six. He relieved Tucker Weaver, who pitched the first five and a third, striking out seven in that frame.
Miller also went 2 for 2 at the plate with a double and two runs batted in. It’s the second straight game that the Tigers have come through at the plate, as they played 14 runs in a win over Rider Ridge on Friday.
“Guys have made some adjustments,” DeLuc said. “I think some of the stuff we’re doing in the cages is starting to pay off.”
The Tigers will go for the sweep over Aberdeen on Wednesday, when they’ll host the Bobcats at Fort Borst Park.
