The North Whidbey Little League 9/10 all-star baseball team split its first two games of the district tournament in Langley this weekend.

North Whidbey thumped South Whidbey 11-3 in the opener Friday, July 8, but lost 15-5 to Burlington Saturday.

North Whidbey meets Sedro-Woolley in a loser-out game at 6 p.m. Monday, July 11.

The South Whidbey game was close until the third inning. Up 2-1, Trevor Sadler’s bunt base-hit with the bases loaded drove in a run, and two more tallies followed on passed balls to give North Whidbey a 5-1 lead. Later Gunnar Lutz ripped a two-run single to bury South Whidbey.

Lutz finished with two hits, two RBI and a run to lead the North Whidbey offense. Chris Shashaty recorded two singles and two runs, while Connor Cash, Peyton Welch, Sadler and Cohen Popp each added a single.

Sadler and relief pitchers Cash and Lutz combined for seven strikeouts and just three walks.

They were backed by a strong defense, according to coach Erik Sadler. Popp made a nice catch in the outfield, Lutz was tough a third base, Soren Shook scooped up a sharply hit ground ball and Welch made a strong throw that a resulted in a rundown successfully executed by the Shashaty brothers, Chris and Nick.

Catchers Shane Hoffmire and Aiden Anderson held South Whidbey to no stolen bases.

Against Burlington, North Whidbey jumped to a 3-0 first-inning lead behind a hit by Lutz, but Burlington steadily pulled away for the win.

“They (Burlington) relied heavily on their hitters, which they had quite a few good ones,” coach Sadler said.

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Gunnar Lutz slides safely into home for a North Whidbey run Friday. Photo by Jim Waller.