Getting strong performances on a variety of fronts, the Oak Harbor High School baseball team stayed alive in the District 1 tournament with a 10-6 win over visiting Arlington Tuesday, May 12.
The third-seeded Wildcats (14-7) go to first-seeded Marysville-Pilchuck (15-7) at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, for another loser-out game. The winner will meet the winner of Ferndale and Meadowdale at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at Everett Memorial Stadium for third place and the final berth into the state tournament.
Lynnwood and Shorewood will square off for the district title at 4 p.m. Saturday in Everett.
Defensive lapses have crippled the Wildcats at times this year, but not Tuesday. In the win over Arlington (10-12), Oak Harbor turned three double plays, threw two runners out at the plate and cut down the only Eagle trying to steal.
On offense, the Wildcats slugged 14 hits, including three triples, on the way to piling up its 10 runs.
After Arlington scored a run in the top of the first, Oak Harbor came right back with three runs in the bottom half. Kevyn Johnson and Brent Mertins singled, and both scored on Tyler Snavely’s triple. Robert Herring singled in Snavely.
In the second inning, Arlington was poised for a huge inning. It scored three runs but had two runners thrown out at the plate. A perfect relay from center fielder Dylan Bailey to shortstop Mertins to catcher Chris Trisler nabbed the first would-be scorer; then left fielder Snavely, third baseman C.J. Meders and Trisler linked up to cut down the other.
Like in the first inning, Oak Harbor responded to an Eagle rally with its own, this time scoring four times to take a 7-4 lead.
Singles by Preston Rankin, Johnson, Mertins and Snavely; a double by Meders; a sacrifice fly by Herring; and an error produced the four-spot.
Oak Harbor turned double plays to stop threats in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
The biggest came in the fifth. With one out and the bases loaded, Trent Benson came in relief of starter Danny Wolfe and threw just one pitch, inducing a grounder to second baseman Johnson, who flipped to Mertins for an out at second, then Mertins fired to Rankin at first to get out of the inning.
Oak Harbor scored two runs in the fourth when Herring tripled after Mertins walked and Snavely singled.
A two-out triple by Benson and a single by Johnson in the fifth plated Oak Harbor’s final run.
Arlington scored single runs in the sixth and seventh.
Johnson and Snavely both finished 3-for-4, and Mertins and Herring were 2-for-3.
Now Oak Harbor heads to Marysville-Pilchuck. The two teams tied for the Wesco North championship, although the Tomahawks won two of the three games in the head-to-head series. All three games were close, with each winner pulling out the game with a big inning late in the ball game.
(Top: Kevyn Johnson completes one of Oak Harbor’s three double plays. Below, Trent Benson pitches in relief. Photos by John Fisken.)
