The Oak Harbor High School summer baseball team put the finishing touches on a successful season by winning three of four games and placing fifth in the 16-team Saint Martin’s Tournament in Lacey July 27-30.
After winning just one of five games in the summer’s first tournament, the Wildcats dropped only one game in each of the next four and ended the summer with a 14-8 record.
“By the end of this summer we were playing baseball at a very high level,” coach Cody Anderson said. “I believe that we were the best team at the last tournament and could have won it. These boys really started to play baseball very high level, and I am very proud of them.”
The five-tournament summer included one championship and three top-three finishes.
Although Oak Harbor lost only one game in Lacey, they placed fifth based on the tournament’s tie-breaker criteria.
Oak Harbor 8, Bellevue Honda 2
The Wildcats scored all eight runs in the fifth inning to break open a scoreless tie and snare the tournament opener.
In the big inning, the first eight batters all reached base and scored.
Donnie Kloewer and Thomas Anderson started the rally with walks and Taylor Rummel followed with a run-scoring single. After Aiden McCarthy walked, Joe Dixon, Andrew Dixon, Jack Lovendale and Austin Boesch all singled.
After an out, Kloewer walked again and Anderson wrapped up the inning with a two-run single.
Joe Dixon finished with three hits; Andrew Dixon and Boesch two; and Anderson, Rummel, McCarthy and Lovendale one.
Lovendale picked up the pitching win.
Oak Harbor 9, Auburn Zips 5
Each team scored in four separate innings, but the Wildcats were able to put up more crooked numbers.
The Zips scored once in the top of the first, then Oak Harbor responded with three runs in its half on RBI singles by Cory Roberts and Aaron Martinez and two errors.
The Zips tied the game with two runs in the third, and Oak Harbor countered with two in the fourth to go up 5-3.
Singles by Joe Dixon, McCarthy and Boesch mixed in with a walk to Andrew Dixon resulted in the two runs.
Auburn added a run in the fifth and Oak Harbor tacked on three behind hits by Anderson, Rummel, Joe Dixon and Boesch.
Singles by Roberts and Martinez in the sixth led to the Wildcats’ final run.
Boesch was the winning pitcher and led the offense with three hits.
Roberts, Martinez and Joe Dixon each collected a pair of hits; and Kloewer, Anderson, Rummel, Andrew Dixon and McCarthy added singles.
Bellevue Honda 10, Oak Harbor 8
Honda avenged the earlier loss with the help of a four-run seventh.
Bellevue went up 3-0, then Oak Harbor scored once in the second and twice in the third to tie it up.
Base hits by McCarthy, Joe Dixon, Roberts and Boesch picked up the first run; then McCarthy hit a two-run single after Anderson singled and Martinez walked in the third.
Honda went up 6-3 going into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Wildcats scored twice on a walk, hit batter, error and Anderson’s hit.
Oak Harbor made it 6-6 with a run in the sixth behind a walk and hits by Rummel and Anderson.
Bellevue took advantage of several Oak Harbor miscues to score four runs in the top of the seventh.
The Wildcats scored twice and left the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning.
McCarthy, Roberts, Boesch and Rummel all singled, but the rally came up short.
McCarthy had three hits and three RBI in the game; and Boesch, Rummel, Anderson, Joe Dixon and Roberts rapped two hits apiece.
Oak Harbor 6, Shoreline Wave 3
Shoreline opened the game with a run in the first inning, then Oak Harbor tallied once in the third and three times in the fourth to go ahead 4-1.
In the third, Boesch walked, stole second and scored on Martinez’s single.
Hits by Andrew Dixon, Roberts and Martinez led to the third-inning runs.
The Wave cut Oak Harbor’s lead to one with two runs in the sixth, but the Wildcats got the runs back in the bottom half. A single by Boesch, an error and McCarthy’s sacrifice fly plated the Wildcat runs.
Kloewer had two hits; and Boesch, Martinez, McCarthy, Joe Dixon, Andrew Dixon and Roberts one each.
Lovendale earned his second pitching win of the tournament.
