SPORTS: Wilder playing for hardware in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. — Forget about that five-game losing streak to begin the season.

After winning five of its last six, including two of three at the Post 9 Showcase Classic this weekend in Salem, it appears Wilder Baseball has put its slow start firmly in the rearview.

The Senior Babe Ruth Baseball club might even come home from Oregon with some hardware.

Wilder’s 2-1 showing was good enough to put it in tonight’s tournament championship against either host Post 9 or the Mid-Valley Rockets of Albany, Ore.

“When we play with energy you can just see the difference,” Wilder coach Rob Merritt said.

“This is our first time on the road together, and we’re getting that camaraderie.

“Plus we were battling guys missing for whatever reason [the first few weeks], and now we’re just starting to get together.”

Even with two players still missing — Ryan Aumock (illness) and Derek Crain (class trip) — Wilder has managed to hang tough in Salem.

The all stars dropped Bellingham Legion 9-8 on Thursday before falling 9-1 to Vancouver Showtime on Friday.

The North Olympic Peninsula all star club then rebounded with a 14-6 rout of Portland Baseball on Saturday.

Wilder (5-6 overall) bashed three home runs total in its two victories, with Easton Napiontek accounting for two of them Saturday.

The 6-foot-7 Port Angeles product smacked two-run and three-run homers in the blowout victory while also going all five innings on the mound. (The tournament has an eight-run mercy rule.)

He struck out seven and gave up just one run in four innings before submitting one rocky frame with the game already in hand.

“Easton did a good job setting the tone,” Merritt said.

“We played with a lot of energy today. Last night [against Vancouver] we just came out flat and kind of laid an egg.”

Wilder totaled 10 hits in the win over Portland on Saturday.

Cody Sullivan added two hits with a double and two runs scored, while A.J. Konopaski was 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs.

Offense was much harder to come by the day before against Vancouver Showtime, with Camas right-hander Zach Carter holding the Wilder bats to just three hits in five innings.

A.J. Konopaski kept pace on the mound with Carter early on, giving up just one run in the first three innings.

Then Vancouver exploded for a five-run fourth to chase the right-hander and scored three more in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.

Thanks to Bellingham Legion’s 11-6 win over Vancouver (Wash.) on Saturday night, however, the loss didn’t keep Wilder out of today’s title game.

Instead, Wilder’s narrow head-to-head victory over Bellingham, also 2-1 in pool play, on Thursday ended up being the difference between the third/fourth-place game and the championship.

Dramatic finish

That win didn’t come easy, despite Wilder entering the bottom of the sixth inning with a 9-4 lead thanks to a three-run Austin McConnell triple in the top half of the frame

Bellingham scored four runs and loaded the bases with two outs against Sullivan, but the Port Angeles right-hander got a line out to center field to end it.

“The guy hits a shot to deep center field and Austin McConnell caught it,” Merritt said. “And he’s normally our catcher.”

McConnell went 2-for-4 at the plate in the win, while Sullivan was 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and two runs scored. Kyler Morgan was also 2-for-2 with a double and a run.

Cole Uvila earned the win on the mound, going three innings prior to giving way to Sullivan in the fourth.

Wilder 9, Bellingham Legion 8 (Thursday)

Wilder 0 3 0 3 0 3 — 9 8 2

Bellingham 0 1 1 2 0 4 — 8 10 1

WP- Uvila (1-0); LP- Bird; SV- Sullivan (1)

Pitching Statistics

Wilder: Uvila 3IP, 4R, 3ER, 4H, 3BB, HBP, 3K; Sullivan 3IP, 5H, 4R, 2ER, BB, 3K.

Bellingham: Bird 5IP.

Hitting Statistics

Wilder: Sullivan 2-3 (2R, 4RBI, HR); Morgan 2-2 (2B, R); McConnell 2-4 (R, 3RBI, 3B).

Vancouver Showtime 9, Wilder 1 (Friday)

Wilder 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 3 2