Post-season play for North Whidbey Little League teams began this weekend with the Andrade Tournament in Oak Harbor and the Tesarik Tournament in Sedro-Woolley.
Tournament action continues through the week.
The Dodgers and Red Sox represent North Whidbey in the 10-team Andrade showdown, while the Rockies, Mariners and Angels tangle in the 10-team Tesarik.
The Dodgers thumped the Sedro-Woolley Reds 13-2 Saturday. Brandon Wells went 3-for-3 and Kaleb Vaughan 2-for-2 with a double.
The Red Sox fell 10-7 to the Central Whidbey Cardinals Saturday, and then, behind the pitching of Dylan Roberts and Hannah Barnes, defeated the Central Whidbey Giants 5-2 Saturday.
An incredible comeback in the final inning helped the North Whidbey Rockies open with a 7-6 win over the Burlington-Edison Ducks Saturday.
The Rockies then fell to the South Skagit Giants 15-7 Sunday.
In a battle of Mariners, the North Whidbey version, which had a first-round bye, defeated the South Skagit M’s 6-5 Sunday. The South Skagit Mariners defeated North Whidbey’s Angels Saturday.
In the Rockies’ win over the Ducks, the Rockies played solid defense early, turning double plays in each of the first two innings. Defensive miscues, however, allowed the Ducks to score the game’s first two runs in the third.
Neither team scored again until the fifth when the Rockies tied it. Micah Franklin doubled in Nick Krantz and scored on Trevor Sheils’ hit.
The Ducks pushed ahead 6-2 with a four-run six. The Rockies’ Andrew Score came in to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam to stop the damage.
Rockie assistant coach David Franklin said “the bottom of the order came through big time” to start the Rockies’ sixth-inning comeback.
Daniel Soto led off with a double and the next four hitters singled. Joe Dixon finished the rally with a sharp single to drive in Shane Vogt with the winning run.
There was no magical comeback in the 15-7 loss to the Giants.
The Rockies scored two runs in the first, overcoming a Giant double play. Franklin and Dixon singled and scored on Shiels’ double.
The Giants countered with five first-inning runs, four coming from a grand slam.
The Giants tacked on three runs in the second, then the Rockies scored two in the third. Singles by Vogt, Dixon and Shiels loaded the bases, then Score drove in two with a base hit.
Down 9-4 in the fourth, the Rockies cut it to 9-6 and looked to score more but left the bases loaded. Nick Krantz and Vogt singled, and Krantz scored on Franklin’s sacrifice fly. Shiels singled in the second run.
The Giants put the game away with a five-run fourth.
The Rockies’ final run came in the seventh. Franklin and Dixon singled, and Franklin scored on Shiel’s fielder’s choice.
The Rockies play a loser-out game at 6 p.m. Monday, June 3.
In the Mariner-Mariner game, all of the scoring came in the fourth and fifth innings.
North Whidbey’s Karmen Mebane pitched the first four innings, striking out six and allowing one run in the fourth.
North Whidbey left the bases loaded in the second and third without scoring, but took a 2-1 lead with a pair of fourth-inning runs.
After surrendering four runs in the top of the fifth, North Whidbey regained the lead with its own four runs.
Mebane led the offense with a two-run single.
South Skagit helped the NW cause by walking 10 batters.
The North Whidbey Mariners continue play in Sedro-Wooley Monday, June 3, at 6 p.m.
The North Whidbey Red Sox play at 6 p.m. Monday at Windjammer Park.
Results of the other North Whidbey games were not reported.
