ACH ties for third in state baseball tournament
Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s Cody Kagele slides into home base in the fourth inning of the Warrior’s 5-2 win over Mount Vernon Christian on May 21, 2022.
Ian Bivona/Columbia Basin Herald
Dane Isaak runs from second to third base in the Warrior’s 5-2 win over Mount Vernon Christian on May 21, 2022.
ACH’s Reece Isaak slides into second base in the Warrior’s 5-2 win over Mount Vernon Christian on May 21, 2022.
Grayson Beal sits waiting for a pitch on May 21, 2022.
MOSES LAKE — Almira/Coulee-Hartline finished tied for third in Saturday’s 1B state tournament, beating Mount Vernon Christian 5-2 before losing to Naselle 15-10 in the semifinals.
The Warriors finished the season 17-5-1, including an eight-game winning streak in mid-April where they outscored opponents 152-19.
Against Mount Vernon Christian, ACH came out hot. The Warriors racked up three runs in the top of the first, thanks to two fielding errors and a wild pitch where runners advanced. The Warrior bats grew cold in the second before coming back alive in the third inning, but a bases-loaded groundout halted any thoughts of more runs.
“We got plenty of hits, we just didn’t have enough [hits] with runners in scoring position,” ACH head coach Hunter Lee said. “We just didn’t have enough of the clutch ones.”
The Hurricanes brought in their first run in the top of the fourth inning. Junior Liam Millenaar’s deep RBI double cut the deficit to two. ACH answered, adding another run in the bottom of the fourth after a sac-fly sent senior Cody Kagele home to give the Warriors a 4-0 lead.
The Hurricanes had an attempted comeback rally in the fifth inning, trying to cut into the ACH lead. With two outs, two runners in scoring position and the tying run at the plate, a flyball to deep center field was picked off by ACH’s Parker Roberts. The senior outfielder leapt forward, diving several feet to catch the ball and end the inning.
“We played really good defense,” Lee said. “I think we only had that one error late in the game, but yeah — our defense played really well today.”
Warrior pitcher Grady Murray’s day was finished in the sixth inning. The senior pitcher and outfielder allowed two hits and one run on Saturday, and was replaced by freshman Carter Pitts. When the Hurricanes attempted another late comeback, the freshman pitcher worked ACH out of a jam and secured the win.
“I just told [Pitts] to settle down and throw strikes,” Lee said of his trip to the pitcher’s mound in the seventh inning. “We had a pretty good lead, so I just wanted to make sure we got out of it.”
The Warriors added another run in the bottom of the sixth on a Dane Isaak RBI single and staved off Mount Vernon in the top of the seventh to move on to the second round of the 1B state tournament.
Their luck would eventually run out, falling in the next round to the Naselle Comets 15-10. The Warriors finished tied for third in the 1B state tournament.
Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.
