North Thurston hands Peninsula first loss

One day after the North Thurston baseball team took Peninsula, one of the 3A classification’s last remaining unbeaten teams, to the brink, the Rams knocked off the Seahawks 9-4 Tuesday in Lacey to split the two-game set.

Two 3A teams entered Tuesday’s slate undefeated, and after Peninsula’s loss, Decatur remains the final perfect team.

The Seahawks, who walked off against the Rams Monday in Gig Harbor, scored first Tuesday via a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Rams starter David Perez prevented any further damage and left two runners stranded in scoring position. 

The top of the North Thurston lineup punched back in the bottom half of the first as Zachary Albright singled, Ethan Shaefer doubled and Kole French walked to load the bases. Perez took ball four to tie the game, and both Jordan Dircks and Grady Wright sacrificed to score two more runs, propelling North Thurston to a 3-1 lead.

That same trio at the top of the Rams lineup ignited the offense again in the second inning with two outs, all earning a single, the latter coming from the bat of French and scoring Albright. 

Perez left one runner on the bases in the third and two on in the fourth, but Peninsula finally converted with runners in scoring position in the fifth with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Thomas Marzano. 

Up 4-3 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Rams once again strung together hits. French and Perez both doubled to lead off the frame, and Dircks came up clutch with a two-run single. Another two runs scored on a simple bunt by Wyatt Albertson that turned into a defensive mishap by Peninsula pitcher John Browand, and Albertson made it to third on the play. He eventually scored on Jack Bowser’s bunt, which was also misplayed by Browand, giving North Thurston a 9-3 advantage.

Grady Wright entered in the sixth and sealed the game in relief of Perez, who allowed three runs on four hits across five innings, striking out two and walking five. 

“We had a solid start on the mound from David Perez, who worked himself out of a couple jams. We played outstanding defense all day,” North Thurston head coach Joe Meggs said. “We were fortunate enough to get some big hits with runners on base. Most importantly, we played extremely hard and had great energy all day.”

North Thurston (6-4, 4-4 Puget Sound League) will return to action Saturday for a non-league contest against 2A Bainbridge (8-2, 6-0 Olympic) at Lake Washington High School before two league games against River Ridge (8-3, 5-3 Puget Sound League) next week.