The Oak Harbor/Coupeville 13/14 Babe Ruth baseball team is one stop from grabbing a berth in the state tournament after edging Sedro-Woolley 6-5 Wednesday, June 29, at Burlington’s Rotary Fields.
Oak Harbor/Coupeville faces Friday Harbor at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 30, in Burlington; a victory locks up the district title and a state slot.
Sedro-Woolley defeated Friday Harbor 12-6 in the opening game of the three-team, round robin tournament Monday.
Oak Harbor/Coupeville trailed Sedro-Woolley 3-1 heading into the fourth inning, then Oak Harbor/Coupeville scored three times in the fourth and twice in the fifth to go up 6-3.
Oak Harbor/Coupeville opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first. Chase Ogden and Jacob Hall drew one-out walks, then Ogden scored on an error off the bat of Jared McDonald.
Sedro-Woolley tied the game with a run in the bottom of the second, then added two more in the third for a 3-1 lead.
Oak Harbor’s McDonald and Andrew Dixon started the fourth with singles, but McDonald was cut down at third trying to advance on a passed ball. Royek singled, Dylan Roberts walked and Coupeville’s Ulrik Wells doubled to produce the three runs.
The two-run fifth started with walks to Keegan Dunham and Jacob Pablicki. Groundouts by Ogden and McDonald plated the runs.
Sedro-Woolley scored twice in the sixth to make it a one-run game, but Oak Harbor’s Dylan Roberts put S-W down in order in the seventh to lock up the win.
Roberts pitched a complete game, giving up nine hits while striking out three. He was aided by a strong defense that turned two double plays.
One of the double plays, keyed by a strong throw from center fielder Pablicki, came with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Right fielder Hall made a diving catch to start the sixth, which became even more important as Sedro-Woolley went on to score twice and cut the lead to one.
Wells finished with two hits to lead the Oak Harbor offense, while McDonald, Dixon, Royek, Daniel Olson and Dunham each singled.