BURLINGTON — It wasn’t a pretty box score, but Wilder Jr. overcame some shaky defense behind a three-hitter from pitcher Landon Seibel to beat Sedro-Woolley 5-4 on Sunday.
Seibel had to overcome seven Wilder Jr. errors to pick up the well-deserved win. He gave up just three hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings. Adam Watkins got the final out with the tying run 90 feet away on third base to pick up the save.
“We didn’t play well defensively, but Landon pitched well enough to keep us in it. He gave us the opportunity to win it,” said coach Zac Moore.
Wilder Jr. only had three hits, but good baserunning picked up five runs as the team stole seven bases and had seven other baserunners from walks and hit batsmen.
Michael Grubb went 1 for 2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. He drove in a run and walked once. Logan Olson was 1 for 3 with two stolen bases, a run scored and a walk. Trey Baysinger was 1 for 2 with a run scored and a hit-by-pitch.
Wilder Jr. went into the ninth up 5-3, but Sedro-Woolley made the ending nervous with a double and an RBI single. The Sedro-Woolley runner at first eventually made it to third on a steal and an error, but Watkins got the final out on a grounder to shortstop Grubb.
Wilder Jr. (18-10), which finished tied for third in the NW Area 1 AA American Legion league, has won three out of four at the district tournament. They begin play at the state AA tournament in Yakima on Saturday, but they don’t know yet what seed they will be.
Wilder Jr. played the winner of a game between Mount Vernon and Burlington on Sunday evening after press deadline. Wilder Jr. could be a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed out of district depending on who won the Mount Vernon-Burlington game.
Wilder Jr. 5, Sedro-Woolley 4
S-W 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 — 4 3 2
WJr. 3 2 0 0 0 0 x — 5 3 7
WP: Seibel
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Seibel 6.1IP, 3H, 2ER, 2K, BB; Watkins 0.1IP, 0H, 0R.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Grubb 1-2, 2R, RBI, BB, 2SB; Olson 1-3, R, BB, 2SB; Baysinger 1-2, R, SB; Thomas 0-2, RBI, BB, SB; Meadows 0-2, R, SB.
Saturday’s game Mount Vernon 5, Wilder Jr. 3
In Saturday evening’s game, Wilder Jr. got into a dogfight with NW Area 1 American Legion AA league champion Mount Vernon, but two late runs by the Riverdogs were the difference in a 5-3 loss.
Wilder Jr. scored three runs in the first inning and the Riverdogs answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. The scored remained locked up at 3-3 until the bottom of the fifth inning when Mount Vernon finally broke through for another run. The Riverdogs added an insurance run in the sixth.
Michael Grubb went 3 for 4 at the plate with a double. Silas Thomas hit a double and scored a run, while Joey Hildebrandt had a single and a run scored.
Kaleb Ripley had a hit and an RBI and Landon Seibel had a hit and an RBI.
On the mound, Logan Olson made the start, going four innings, and giving up two earned runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out three.
Eli Cyr took the loss, giving up a run in the fifth.
Mount Vernon 5, Wilder Jr. 3
WJr. 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 8 2
MV 3 0 0 0 1 1 x — 5 7 4
LP: Cyr
Pitching
Wilder Jr. — Olson 4IP, 4H, 2ER, 3K, BB; Cyr 1IP, 2H, ER, BB; Bradow 0.1IP, BB; Jarnigan 0.2IP, H.
Hitting
Wilder Jr. — Grubb 3-4, 2B; Thomas 1-4, 2B, R; Ripley 1-3, RBI; Hildebrandt 1-4, R; Seibel 1-3, RBI.