AMERICAN LEGION: Wilder overwhelmed by Twin Cities show

PORT ANGELES — Wilder Senior had a tough match against the Twin-Cities Titans, losing 15-0 in the second round of the American Legion AAA state tournament.

The score is a bit misleading, as Wilder Sr. trailed only 2-0 in the fifth inning and trailed only 4-0 in the sixth. But Twin-Cities took advantage of Wilder’s shaky defense to score 11 runs in the final two innings. Seven of those runs were unearned.

“I told them to just move on,” coach Zac Moore said. “We’ve got to be ready for tomorrow.”

Moore said he saw positives in the game, namely that “(Pitcher) Colton (Romero) threw a good game, except for one pitch. (Pitcher) Devyn (Dearinger) hit it right away.”

Romero pitched five innings and allowed eight hits. Only two of the eight runs he allowed were earned, as his defense uncharacteristically committed five errors behind him. He held out for the next five innings, going pitch-for-pitch against Twin-Cities pitcher Jabari Simon, who allowed two hits and struck out eight in 6⅓ innings.

In the sixth inning, Wilder’s defense went haywire, committing three straight run-in errors and putting two runners on base. That came back to haunt the seniors as Romero made only one error all game, against Twin-Cities DH Ryan Hoerner, who then tomahawked an eye-level pitch for a three-run homer over the left-field fence to make it 8-0. Hoerner wouldn’t have even been at bat in that situation if it weren’t for the errors, as Romero would have been out of the inning.

From that point on, the tide of the game turned. Wilder struggled to get the last six outs of the game and Twin-Cities scored another seven runs.

Dearinger pitched the seventh inning and stopped the bleeding with two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning.

Although the defense struggled in the final minutes, there were some solid defensive plays from Wilder earlier in the game. Jordan Shumway made a spectacular diving catch of a line drive in center field in the third inning, and right fielder Ethan Staples followed that up with a good catch of a deep ball near the outfield fence. Catcher Luke Flodstrom also threw a couple of strikes to hit baserunners.

Alex Angevine and Bryant Laboy had the hits for Wilder. Laboy’s was a perfect bunt that yielded a single.

Wilder Senior (17-18) is still alive in the tournament, one of six teams still in the running. The seniors played the West Plains Cannons in the consolation pool Monday night after the press deadline. Check Wednesday’s sports section for results or go online to www.peninsuladailynews.com. If Wilder wins that game, they’ll play Area 1 rival Lakeside Recovery of the Twin-Cities again today at 7 p.m. at Civic Field.

In other state championship games on Sunday, the Yakima Beetles defeated Gonzaga Prep 6-5, the WP Cannons defeated Mount Spokane 7-2 and Lakeside Recovery defeated Pepsi Pak 8-2.

Twin Cities 15, Wilder Senior 0

TC 1 0 0 1 2 4 7 — 15 14 0

WSr. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 5

To throw

Wilder Sr. — Romero 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, K; Williams 1.1 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, K; Dearinger 0.2 IP, H, 2 K.

To beat

Wilder Sr. — Angevine 1-3, BB; Laboy 1-2.