Wahluke baseball splits doubleheaders
After stealing second base against Connell, Wahluke’s Angel Granados tries to take third base also and comes up short.
MATTAWA — It looks like the Wahluke High School baseball program is coming together and will be competitive next year at the SCAC varsity level.
The Warriors have won more games this year than the last two years playing a junior varsity and small school varsity schedule. They are fielding with skill, hitting the ball and developing at least one fine pitcher.
That fine pitcher, sophomore Sergio Pineda has a 5-1 record and has struck out 25 batters in his last two outings. He has a live fastball and some stuff to offset it.
In their next-to-last outing, the Warriors split with Columbia-Burbank, winning the first game behind an outstanding effort by Pineda. He struck out 16 batters, walked three and gave up one earned run in eight innings.
Pineda was also brilliant at the plate. He drove in the game-winning run in the top of the eighth when he tripled in Aaron Martinez to push the score to 3-2. He scored on an Eduardo Ponce ground out to make the 4-2. Then the defense took over.
Burbank led off the bottom of the eighth with a base hit, then stole second base. That runner was eliminated when the next batter lined to first baseman Carlos Delgado and he threw to shortstop Aaron Martinez at second, doubling up the base runner.
Pineda got the final batter to line out to right fielder Daniel Tapia to end the game.
“This could have been our first win at Burbank. If not, I know that we haven’t beaten them since I’ve been at Wahluke (nine years),” head coach Dan Oppelt said.
The Warriors dropped the second game, 6-0. Warrior pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone. They surrendered only four hits but gave up eight bases on balls, and there were untimely errors. “What should have been a 1-0 or 2-0 game, kind of got away from us when we committed errors with runners on base,” Oppelt said.
In another doubleheader, Wahluke split with Connell. Once again, Pineda led the Warriors to a victory, 3-1, over visiting Connell.
Pineda improved to 5-1 for the season, giving up one run on two hits. He collected nine strikeouts in seven innings and helped Wahluke earn its seventh win of the season.
Pineda and fellow Sophomore Daniel Tapia went 2-2 from the plate, and Eduardo Ponce provided a clutch RBI double in the Warriors two-run fourth, plating Aaron Martinez and later scoring himself when Brennan Zirker reached on an error.
“After we took the lead in the fourth, our defense did a great job making plays, and Sergio sealed the deal by shutting down the Connell hitters in the final three innings,” Oppelt said.
Charlie Garza tagged a runner at the plate to save a run. Outfielder Ricardo Cabrera made a major league-like diving catch of a dying quail outside of the left field foul line.
Game two was a different story. Oppelt started a completely different lineup to give reserve players some time to grow. Connell pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter in a 13-0 Eagles win.
Wahluke pitcher Carlos Delgado threw well but left the game in the top of the 4th with two outs after reaching his pitch count. The next two pitchers faced 13 hitters before registering the final out of the inning. Aaron Martinez pitched the top of the fifth and got all three Connell hitters out.