Editor’s Note: North Olympic scored five runs in the sixth inning to beat Belgrade Wednesday evening 10-8 to win the Pacific Northwest Regional championship.
MERIDIAN, Idaho — The hits just coming for the North Olympic 13U Babe Ruth club.
North Olympic played for the Pacific Northwest regional championship against the Belgrade (Mont.) Bandits Wednesday night. Results of that game were after press deadline. Look online at www.peninsuladailynews.com or in Friday’s sports section for results.
North Olympic got to that game thanks to a walk-off, dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 victory in the bottom of the seventh inning over Oswego (Oregon) Baseball 13U to win the regional semifinal.
Entering the bottom of the seventh inning down 3-1, Cooper Merritt started the rally with a single, followed by a single by Jacob Kimzey. Gavin Doyle drove in Merritt with a single and Carson Greenstreet tied the game with another RBI single.
Coleman Keate was intentionally walked and all three baserunners took off with Doyle trying to steal home to end the game. Doyle was tagged out at home, while Greenstreet and Keate each moved up a base.
Liam Shea was intentionally walked to set up an out at every base, and then Jay Lieberman was hit by a pitch to drive in Greenstreet from third as the winning run.
Shea pitched the final 2â…“ innings and was the winning pitcher, allowing just one hit and striking out three. Lieberman pitched the first 4â…”, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. He struck out four.
North Olympic is trying to become the second Babe Ruth regional champion from the Olympic Peninsula. The Wilder Senior Baseball Club won the Babe Ruth 18U regional championship last weekend.
Tuesday’s late game
North Olympic finished 4-0 in pool play, helped by a huge eight-run fourth-inning and some clutch pitching down the stretch by Julian Dominguez in a 14-12 win over Belgrade.
It was a back-and-forth affair with Belgrade holding leads of 4-1, 8-3 and 9-4 early in the game. North Olympic was able to take command with its big fourth inning.
With North Olympic up 13-9, Belgrade was able to claw back into the game with two runs in the fifth and a run in the six. North Olympic got a crucial insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Belgrade was able to get to a trio of North Olympic pitchers for 13 hits and 12 earned runs, but Dominguez shut down the Bandits over the final 1â…“ innings, allowing one hit and no runs for a well-earned save. He struck out one.
At the plate, Doyle had a big game, going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBIs. Dominguez had a hit, a run scored and three RBIs.
Kimzey was 3-for-4 with a strikeout, while Merritt was 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Greenstreet had a hit, a run scored and two RBIs.
Belgrade beat the FCA Lumberjacks 11-1 in the other semifinal to make it to the championship game.
