Burlington topped Central Whidbey 12-8 Saturday, July 2, at Skagit Valley College to eliminate CWLL from the Junior Baseball (13/14) District Tournament and thwart Coupeville’s attempt to win back-to-back state titles.
Central Whidbey set up the showdown with Burlington by defeating North Whidbey 8-5 Friday and pushing NWLL out of the tournament.
In Little League (10/11/12) softball action, North Whidbey “missed an extra point” and lost to Sedro-Woolley 21-20 in a loser-out game at Volunteer Park Friday.
Central Whidbey Junior Baseball coach Ramon Villaflor said his pitchers — Sebastian Davis, Josh Bayne and Wade Schaef — threw an “amazing game” in the win over North Whidbey.
CWLL had several chances to break the game open but left the bases loaded three times and left a dozen runners in scoring position.
Two errors, two passed balls and a triple by Korbin Korzan helped CWLL jump to an early lead, according to NWLL coach Ryan Black.
Black said his squad played “an awesome game.” He added, “Their heads, hearts and bats were in the game the whole time.”
A slick double play started by Keith Montenegro was one of the game’s highlight’s, according to Black.
In addition to Korzan’s two-run triple, CWLL got two hits and two RBI from Schaef. Carson Risner had a single and two RBI, and Cyrus Reyes and Aaron Trumbull each had a single.
Quentin Tungate led NWLL with a hit, RBI and two stolen bases. Steve Timm doubled and Chase Powell and Sean Erskine added singles.
In Central Whidbey’s loss to Burlington, Villaflor said there was “very little offense” and only “five hits throughout the game.”
He added, “A lot of walks and stolen bases produced runs.”
One of CWLL’s highlights came from an unlikely source. Playing its fourth game in four days and short on pitching, Central Whidbey turned to Risner. Risner, according to Villaflor, hadn’t pitched in three years but struck out five of the eight batters he faced.
CWLL won its first state title last summer but was haunted this year by missed opportunities.
Villaflor said, “Offensively we hit a wall during this tournament and were unable to produce runs in key points.”
