PORT ANGELES — Wilder Baseball lost a pair of heartbreaking one-run games under the lights at Civic Field late Sunday night.
Kitsap Baseball of Bremerton won the first game 10-9 in a nine-inning game, and claimed the second in a 1-0 no-hitter.
Wilder fell to 4-6 with the two hard-luck losses.
The Port Angeles team came roaring back in the first game after falling behind 5-0 in the first inning and 8-2 in the top of the sixth.
But Wilder came back with one run in the bottom of the sixth and five in the seventh inning to push the game into extra innings.
Kitsap helped a lot in the seventh with six walks and two errors in the inning.
But Wilder stayed in the game until Kitsap scored two in the top of the ninth on a leadoff walk, a Wilder error and a double.
Port Angeles came back to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Wilder, however, got only one run out of it as two batters struck out. Port Angeles earned its lone run on a squeeze play.
Kitsap had 12 hits and three errors in the first game while Wilder whacked out nine hits. Port Angeles also had three errors.
Chase Moore pitched the first four innings for Wilder while Ryan Wilcox threw two and Brandon Bancroft of Quilcene hurled the final three innings.
“Brandon Bancroft threw really well,” Wilder coach Rob Merritt said. “It was a hard-luck loss for him.”
Brien Jaksha of Forks went 3-for-6 at the plate for Wilder with a run scored while Easton Napiontek was 2-for-4.
The second game was a pitchers’ duel with Kyle Murray and Eric Eley of Kitsap combining for a seven-inning no-hitter.
Murray pitched the first five innings, gaining the win, while Eley threw the final two for the save.
There were only six base runners for Wilder with none getting past second base.
Danny Romero and A.J. Konopaski combined for an eight-hit, one-run game for Wilder.
Romero threw the first four innings and Konopaski pitched the final three.
Konopaski gave up just two hits and no runs while fanning four. Romero struck out four and gave up six hits and the one earned run.
“That was a hard-luck loss for Romero,” Merritt said. “He has lost two one-run ball games now.”
Wilder has a busy weekend ahead, hosting South Kitsap of Port Orchard on Friday with a doubleheader starting at 6 p.m. on Civic Field.
Wilder then travels to South Kitsap for a doubleheader Saturday, and concludes the weekend with a doubleheader Sunday against Narrows Baseball Club of Gig Harbor at Civic Field beginning at noon.
