The first inning was great for the Oak Harbor High School baseball team in its home game with Marysville-Pilchuck Wednesday, April 13, but everything after that…well, the Wildcats would just as soon forget.

The Tomahawks drubbed the Wildcats 16-7.

The two teams meet against in Marysville at 4 p.m. both Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s game is a makeup of Tuesday’s rainout.

After M-P went scoreless in the top of the first inning, the Wildcats bolted out of the gate for seven first-inning runs. Oak Harbor didn’t score again while the Tommies scored in each of the remaining innings except the last.

The teams combined for 26 hits, 15 by Marysville-Pilchuck; most of the hits were line drives. A strong wind blowing straight out helped produce 11 extra-base hits in Oak Harbor’s spacious field.  M-P stroked an inside-the-park home run, two triples and four doubles.  Oak Harbor finished with three doubles.

Oak Harbor’s first seven hitters all reached base and scored. The Wildcats had only five base runners the remainder of the game, and Preston Rankin, who finished with four hits, accounted for three.

Oak Harbor rapped seven hits in the first inning, and other than Kevyn Johnson’s well-placed bunt single, each was hit hard.

Trent Benson opened with a single, Johnson bunted himself aboard and Tyler Snavely walked to load the bases. Rankin promptly cleared the bags with a double into the left-filed gap.

Steven Richards doubled, then Chad Spradlin singled in two runs. Rob Herring followed with a double, then after two outs, Benson collected his second hit of the inning, a two-run single. That finished the Oak Harbor scoring.

Marysville-Pilchuck quickly got back into the game with a six-run second inning. It tacked on two runs in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth and four in the sixth.

Rankin went 4-for-4 with a double, run and three RBI. Benson had two hits and two RBI. Richard and Herring added doubles, and Johnson, Snavely, Spradlin and Dylan Bailey had the other hits.

Oak Harbor’s record fell to 2-3 (4-5); M-P is now 4-1 (7-3).

(Left: Second baseman Trent Benson fields a ground ball.

Below: First baseman Steven Richards looks in a throw.

Photos by John Fisken.)