Sun Devils take third at state

LACEY - The Moses Lake Sun Devils acquitted themselves quite well at the recently completed American Legion A State Championships in Lacey.

The Junior Legion title chase at North Thurston High School ended with the Sun Devils going 2-2 and taking third place at the tournament.

"Losing only to eventual state champions Woodinville by a hair and second place finishers Oak Harbor in a very close ball game, We had a very strong showing at state," Sun Devils head coach Mark Rust said. "Unfortunately, we can't always control how the ball bounces, a couple 'normal' bounces on defense and we have a state title. We were a tough team to beat, I tip my hat to those two teams for getting the better of us."

The Sun Devils opened play with a narrow 6-5 win over Snohomish, recording eight hits and six stolen bases.

They got off to a hot start with three runs in the bottom of the first inning.

"It was nice to get off to such a good start," Rust said. "Between the travel and the nerves, it was good to see the boys come out firing."

The trend continued all tournament long as they scored in the first inning of every game.

Snohomish would battle back to tie the game at 4-4 after three innings.

"With the way they put the ball in play, and with the quality pitcher they had, we knew it was going to be a battle," Rust said.

The teams battled back and forth to a 5-5 tie after the top of the seventh inning.

"The actually had bases loaded with nobody out and it could have been much worse," Rust said. "My starting pitcher Chase Tunstall walked the bases loaded, I went to the mound to take him out, but he had a fire in his eyes that I haven't seen all year and begged to finish it, so I left him stay in."

Tunstall's fire carried over as the Sun Devils won the game in the bottom half of the frame, scoring the deciding run on a wild pitch that occurred during an intentional walk.

"It was a bizarre finish to a really good game," Rust said.

Drew Loera and Tunstall each had two hit.

Woodinville, the eventual champions, beat Moses Lake 6-5 as they scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

"We were facing another quality pitcher and second best catcher we've faced all year," Rust said.

Erick Huberdeau, Tunstall, Loera had two hits each for the Sun Devils while Loera added three RBI.

"We put the ball in play, forced the defense to work, and unfortunately they had very strong defense," Rust said.

Staying alive was key for the Sun Devils when they faced Tenino and they delivered with a 6-3 win behind a 10-hit attack.

Brett Moser, Jacob Williams and Loera had two hits each.

"We faced another good pitcher with a good fast ball, but a weaker curve ball," Rust said. "We were able to adjust, which forced him to throw his fast ball more and we were all over it."

Moses Lake scored four runs in the first inning and they held on for the win.

Spencer Street pitched a complete game four-hitter for the win.

Their season ended when the Sun Devils lost to Oak Harbor, 4-2.

"We faced a top quality pitcher and the best catcher we've seen all year," Rust said. "He was a stud, he had a great arm, but also blocked the ball really well.

"We had plenty of scoring opportunities, but poor base running and a couple of missed assignments at the plate, cost us dearly," Rust said.

The Sun Devils had the bases loaded in the seventh but couldn't force extra play.

Tunstall pitched a complete game in the loss.

"I thought he pitched better than before, although the stats say differently," Rust said. "All in all it was a winnable game. We just had a couple defensive lapses that led to runs and base running errors that cost us runs."