It was all over but the celebration after the first inning in Tuesday’s opening game of the District 11 juniors baseball tournament at Volunteer Park in Anacortes.
The combined Central/South Whidbey juniors baseball team took no prisoners sending 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first rapping out six hits and taking advantage of three errors to put eight runs on the board.
After that, the team was on cruise control and defeated Sedro-Woolley 15-5 in a game called after five innings of play on the 10-run rule.
Sedro-Wooley starting pitcher Andrew Minkel lasted just one third of an inning giving up four runs before being replaced by Kielan Kelley who finished the game.
Central/South Whidbey had 12 hits in the game including doubles by Miles Goodman, Jacob Olmstead and Isaac Wacker, and a triple by Robert Kirby. But a key factor in the blow-out victory was stolen bases.
Central/South Whidbey was successful on 15 of 16 attempts and on several occasions tested the Sedro-Woolley outfielders’ arms by taking an extra base.
Sedro-Woolley cut the lead in half scoring four runs in the top of the second inning, but Central/South Whidbey answered with single runs in the bottom of the second and third innings before putting the game away with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Kirby was 2 for 2 with a pair of sacrifice flys and three RBI for Central/South Whidbey. Goodman was 2 for 2 with two runs scored and Olmstead was also 2 for 2.
Chase Griffin scored three runs and Ian Smith had a 2 for 4 game at the plate and drove in two runs.