The North Thurston baseball team’s first loss in 36 days came at the most inopportune of times.
The Rams fell to Bellarmine 4-1 in the first round of the District 3 3A Tournament Tuesday, snapping a 12-game winning streak and ending their season.
“We did not take good at bats today with runners on base and made too many mistakes on defense. I give Bellarmine credit for making plays when they needed to and for taking advantage of some of our mistakes,” North Thurston head coach Joe Meggs said.
North Thurston loaded the bases in the first inning, and Jordan Dircks provided the first run on a sacrifice fly. Then Bellarmine loaded the bases with no one out, and after pitcher Ethan Shaefer earned two strikeouts in a row, he walked two to plate a pair of runs for the Lions. He managed to strike out the next batter to leave the bases juiced.
Two of North Thurston’s four total hits came in the third inning as the Rams loaded the bases with no one out. But, Dircks grounded into a double play and Grady Wright struck out.
Bellarmine added a run on a two-out passed ball in the fifth and scored another on a wild pitch in the seventh. The Lions recorded just three hits, as Shaefer allowed one in five innings while striking out nine and walking six. All four of the runs allowed by Shaefer and Wright were unearned due to three North Thurston errors.
The Rams finish with a 16-6 record this spring and graduate eight seniors: Ethan Shaefer, Kole French, Caleb Soares, David Perez, Zachary Albright, Chase Childers, Grady Wright and Robbie Tweed.
“It’s a tough way to end a very good season for our team,” Meggs said. “We are disappointed that our season is over, but I’m proud of our group for the progress we made this season and for the effort our kids gave us.”
