PORT ANGELES — The Wilder Senior baseball club got off to a bit of a slow start Saturday night, making a costly error in the top of the first inning and allowing the WBC Colts Red team to score a run on a single.
But then came the bottom of the first. And it was quickly all over.
Leadoff hitter Jacob Felton came up in the bottom of the first and promptly crushed a towering no-doubt home run to deep left field. Just like that, the game was tied. Logan Olson followed with a single to right and Wyatt Hall drove him in with a deep triple to dead center field that would have been a home run if he had pulled it, giving Wilder a lead they would never give up the rest of the night.
Wilder went on to score four runs in the first, three more in the third and another four in the fourth to romp to a 12-1 win in five innings over WBC Colts Red, setting them up to play in a semifinal for the championship Sunday. With the win and another win Sunday morning, Wilder has gone 5-0 in the Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Classic.
Wilder, the No. 1 seed in their bracket, beat WBC Colts Black in the semifinal Sunday morning 18-6, riding a nine-run fourth inning to a five-inning victory. Wilder played in the tournament championship game Sunday night against either Cascade Crush or the River Dogs. To see the results of that game, go online at www.peninsuladailynews.com or look in Tuesday’s sports section.
Saturday’s win
“It was middle inside,” Felton said of his home run. “It was my first swing of the night, and I wanted to make it count. I wanted it to be good.”
In their five wins so far in the tournament, Wilder has outscored its opponents 64-12.
“The team is really rolling right now. It was our fifth, sixth win in a row. They’re doing all the facets pretty well,” said coach Zac Moore.
“We’ve been playing more like a team,” Felton said.
Pitcher Kole Acker, who allowed that first-inning run, settled down the rest of the way and picked up the win, keeping the WBC Red batters off-balance with his sidearm delivery. He allowed just three hits and no walks in four innings. He struck out three. Kamron Meadows came in and pitched the fifth, allowing no hits.
At the plate, Hall finished with two triples, both hit to nearly the same spot in deep center field. He also scored a run and had two RBIs. Olson was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs scored.
John Vaara was 2-for-2 with four RBIs, two of which came on a single. Landon Seibel had a hit, a run and an RBI, and Michael Grubb drove in two runs on groundouts.
Wilder Sr. 12, WBC Colts Red 1
WBC 1 0 0 0 0 X X — 1 3 2
WSr. 4 1 3 4 X X X — 12 11 2
WP: Acker LP: Murtaza
Pitching
WBC — Murtaza 2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 4 K; Luckey 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, K.
Wilder Sr. — Acker 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB; Meadows IP, 2 BB, K.
Hitting
WBC — Durben 1-2, R; Bianchi 1-2 RBI; Essick 1-1.
Wilder Sr. — Felton 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB; Hall 2-3, 2 3B, R, 2 RBI; Vaara 2-2, 4 RBI, BB; Olson 2-3, 2 R, 2 SB; Baysinger 1-2, 2 R, BB; Seibel 1-1 R, RBI; Meadows 1-1 2B, R; Robinson 0-2 2 R, BB; Grubb 0-3, 2 RBI.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Wilder’s Logan Olson, left, makes it to second, beating the throw to WBS Colts Red shortstop Grady Smith on Saturday in Port Angeles.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Wilder’s Wyatt Hall keeps a close watch on WBS Colts Red pitcher Jibran Murtaza as he takes his lead off of third in the second inning on Saturday in Port Angeles.
Wilder’s Jacob Felton rounds the bases after a first-inning home run Saturday against the WBS Colts Red during the Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Tournament at Port Angeles Civic Field.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Wilder’s Jacob Felton rounds the bases after a first inning home run on Saturday against WBS Colts Red during the Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Tourbnanmebt at Port Angeles Civic Field.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Wilder pitcher Kole Acker hurls in the first inning against WBS Colts Red on Saturday night at Port Angeles Civic Field.
