Royal falls to Freeman in state tournament
Casey McCarthy/Sun Tribune Royal’s Sawyer Jenks goes to make the play against Freeman’s Caleb Forschler at home plate in the 2A State tournament at Larson Field on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/ Columbia Basin Herald Freeman's Jace Phelan smiles as he rounds the bases after a home run in the Scotties' 10-1 victory over Royal in the opening round of the 2A State tournament.
Casey McCarthy/ Columbia Basin Herald Royal pitcher Sawyer Jenks hangs his head after being pulled against Freeman in the Knights 10-1 defeat in the opening round of the 2A State tournament.
Casey McCarthy/ Columbia Basin Herald Royal pitcher Sawyer Jenks waits for pitch against Freeman in the opening round of the 2A State tournament. The Knights were defeated, 10-1.
MOSES LAKE — Royal baseball’s season came to a tough end on Saturday, as they fell 10-1 to Freeman in the opening round of the 2A State tournament at Larson Field.
Coming off a big season and SCAC District championship, the Knights just never found their momentum against the Scotties. Down 5-0 going into the bottom of the third inning, the Knights managed to cut the deficit to four.
Freeman responded, however, scoring five more runs over the next three innings to stretch the lead out to nine. Five errors by Royal to just two by Freeman cost the Knights in the long run.
Royal head coach Joe Avila said his team had been good at not making mental mistakes most of the year, but just struggled on Saturday.
“You make that many mental mistakes, it’s going to cost ya,” Avila said. “That’s baseball. Those are the ones you’ve got to wipe away and move on. That’s life.”
The Knights finished with one run off three hits. JC Worsham picked up the lone run for Royal off an RBI from pitcher Sawyer Jenks. Jenks took the loss for the Knights from the mound, pitching four and two-thirds innings, allowing nine runs off four hits with nine strikeouts.
Freeman finished with 10 runs off six hits as a team. Jace Phelan picked up the win from the mound for Freeman, allowing one run off three hits with nine strikeouts. Phelan also knocked a home run for the Scotties.
While the loss hurts, Coach Avila said he hopes this game can be something the program builds off of.
“We only lose two kids off this team, so we should be tough for a number of years,” Avila said. “And, hopefully, you learn when you get in bigger moments, sometimes you struggle with keeping your mind right, especially baseball. This should be a stepping board for where we’re gonna go in the future.”
In the following round of the 2A State tournament Saturday afternoon, Colville defeated Freeman 8-3 to advance to the semifinals.