Raymond's single propels Chiefs to league championship

MOSES LAKE - It was almost too perfect of a scenario.

Game tied, bottom of the seventh, game-winning run in scoring position, Senior Night at home, the list goes on.

And like Moses Lake (12-1, 16-2) has done the entire season, Cole Raymond delivered a walk-off single that scored Ryan Pena to give the Chiefs a 5-4 win against Wenatchee and the Columbia Basin Big Nine championship.

"I just am so thankful to all the players and all of our coaches that we have through our program, our C-Team and our JV team," head coach Quintz Whitaker said. "Those guys have laid a strong foundation in fundamentals. Same with the parents that we have out there to put us in this spot and to give us an opportunity to go out and win a title like this. I'm blessed to be in this situation, I'm very happy about it."

As soon as Raymond's hit dropped safely into the outfield and Pena's cleat made its imprint on home plate, every player on the Moses Lake roster surged from the dugout.

Raymond stood near first base, accepting the avalanche of humanity that piled on top of him in celebration.

"I was sprinting out there as fast as I could," Brett Moser said. "Drew (Loera) beat me to him, but in a foot race I would've won."

Raymond's single wasn't the only heroic moment of the afternoon. With both teams scoreless entering the fifth inning, Wenatchee was able to push three runs across home plate due to timely hitting and costly fielding mistakes by the Chiefs.

No worries.

"You got to take punches, that's the game of baseball," Whitaker said. "Both teams were squared off. It was even through four innings, both pitchers are throwing great. They kind of got the upper hand going into that fifth inning. They got some guys on base and were able to get a couple clutch hits and drive in three runs and we just had to keep our composure and realize that three runs doesn't necessarily win a game."

In the bottom of the fifth, Moses Lake quickly loaded the bases after Tyson Karstetter singled, Chase Tunstall reached on an error and Pena was walked.

The Chiefs reached the top of their lineup with no outs.

Moser, the leadoff batter, smacked a two-run double that drew Moses Lake to within one run of the Panthers.

Next up, Erick Huberdeau capped the rally with a two-run single that gave the Chiefs their first lead of the afternoon.

Hunter Boyd, who pitched six strong innings, wiggled out of a jam in the sixth before Moser was brought in to close the game out,

Wenatchee was able to tie the game in the seventh after an error by Jaime Vela allowed the game-tying run to score from third base. However, Vela's mistake was an afterthought after Pena lead off the bottom of the seventh with a double and Raymond was able to drive him in for the game-winning run.

For Moser, Jordan Lacelle and Nathan Ball, Tuesday's win meant sweet revenge for a football season marred by missed opportunities against the Panthers.

"I've been waiting for this moment for four years," Moser said. "We almost did it in football, we lost to them to lose the league championship so it's awesome to beat them to win it."

On Senior Night, the elder statesmen of the Moses Lake baseball team led the way with every RBI coming from a senior.

"We rely on those guys and they know that," Whitaker said. "As seniors ... Some of them have a little more experience than other guys, but by this point in the season when you're 18 games in everybody's got experience. It's just been enjoyable. We know that they're going to rise to the occasion."

Moses Lake will close the season with two more road games against the Panthers before preparing for the district tournament, which begins May 16.

A season sweep of Wenatchee would be nice, but Whitaker knows the Chiefs have bigger aspirations than bragging rights.

"We want to get two more wins, but we also are fine-tuning things for moving ahead," he said. "We're going to go out and compete the same as we always do and that's what we'll bring on Friday."

For now, Moses Lake will celebrate one of the most successful regular seasons in the school's history.

"That was amazing," Moser said. "I couldn't have wished it in a better way."