KENNEWICK — Wilder Sr. players found out in their first game at the Washington State American Legion AAA that the pitching at the state level is going to be the best they will see this year.
The Vancouver Mavericks fired a three-hitter at Wilder Sr., beating the Olympic Peninsula team 4-1.
Meanwhile, Wilder A, playing at its state tournament in Spokane, lost a pitchers’ duel 2-1 to Gonzaga Prep.
Wilder Sr.’s Adam Watkins started the game and pitched well enough to win. He went 5⅓ innings, giving up five hits and three earned runs. He walked three and struck out two. Logan Olson pitched the final two-thirds of an inning, walking one and striking out two.
Vancouver’s Jack Davy pitched 6⅔, allowing three hits and one earned run.
John Vaara had a double and a run scored in the seventh inning as Wilder Sr. tried to rally from a 4-0 hole. Ty Bradow had an RBI, while Wyatt Hall had a hit and two walks. Connor Bear also had a hit.
Wilder Sr. will next play at 10 a.m. today against either Selah Pepsi-Pak or Bellingham Post No. 7.
Vancouver 4, Wilder Sr. 1
WSr. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 — 1 3 0
Van. 2 0 0 0 1 1 X — 4 5 1
WP: Davy. LP: Watkins.
Pitching
WSr. — Watkins 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; Olson 0.2 IP, BB, 2 K.
Van. — Davy 6.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, K; Barnum 0-1 IP, K.
Hitting
WSr. — Vaara 1-1, 2B, R; Hall 1-1, 2 BB; Bradow 0-3, RBI; Bear 1-3.
Van. — Blair 2-4, 2 R; McCarthy 2-3 2B.
Wilder A
In the A tournament, Wilder got great pitching from Luke Flodstrom, who went 5⅓ innings and gave up one run on five hits and three walks. He struck out four. Hunter Stratford took the hard-luck loss with an inning in the seventh.
“Seven errors didn’t help,” said coach Mike Politika. “Our pitchers pitched well enough to get the win. We had our chances. We got thrown out at the plate twice.”
Luke Angevine went 2-for-4 with a tiple, while Josiah Gooding went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Brayden White and Tate Alton also had hits.
Wilder A will next play at 9 a.m. today against either Rogers or Pasco River D.
