ROCHESTER — Rochester didn’t do much to hurt itself on Tuesday against Montesano.
The Warriors did have six wild pitches, which led to multiple Montesano runs, but they didn’t commit an error in the field and had more hits than strikeouts at the plate.
They only scored one run, though, and the Bulldogs were able to pull away to hand Rochester a 9-1 loss.
“There were no freebies out there,” Rochester coach Brad Quarnstrom said. “We did compete. That’s a good baseball team. They didn’t make any amazing plays, but they made the plays they were supposed to make … They beat us today.”
Montesano got on the board early with three runs, scoring twice on wild pitches and adding another on a groundout.
“They definitely put the pressure on us by moving guys around on the basepaths,” Quarnstrom said. “And we didn’t handle it very well early on.”
Wyatt Dahl was able to get the Warriors on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, but they weren’t able to get another run across.
They had their chances, putting two on with one out in both the fourth and fifth innings, but a double play and a pair of groundouts ended those rallies before they began.
Quarnstrom gave credit to Montesano’s Kolson Hendrickson, who pitched all seven innings.
“When the guy’s throwing that many strikes, you get a good fastball to hit, you gotta put a good swing on it,” Quarnstrom said. “He was just attacking the strike zone, and you tip your cap to him at that point.”
Ethan Rodriguez also settled in on the mound after the three-run first. He ended up pitching into the sixth, allowing just three hits and five runs (four earned) while striking out nine.
“He started to be able to throw his changeup and curveball for a strike,” Quarnstrom said. “That definitely made a big difference for him as the game progressed.”
With the loss and a Tenino win, the Warriors fell to third place in the 1A Evergreen standings. If Rochester has a better record in its final two league games than Tenino, the Warriors will move into the No. 2 spot. An equal or worse record will keep them in the third spot heading into districts.
Rochester (8-6, 6-4 1A Evergreen) will wrap up its regular season with a doubleheader in Montesano next Tuesday, May 6, but not before heading to Rainier for a non-league matchup on Friday.
“We’re in,” Quarnstrom said. “So now gotta find a way in the next three games to get some momentum going and feel confident about ourselves going into the district tournament.”
