The North Thurston baseball team held one of the best teams in 3A in Gig Harbor mostly in check for six innings.
Entering the seventh, the Tides had five runs on six hits, but they erupted in the seventh for 10 runs to win 15-1 Thursday afternoon in Gig Harbor. North Thurston recorded just two hits in the loss.
Rams starter Ethan Shaefer retired eight of his first nine batters faced, but after striking out the first two Tides in the third, he allowed a walk and three straight singles, including a two-run hit to give Gig Harbor a 2-0 lead.
North Thurston’s first hit came in the third on a single by Shaefer, who moved Robbie Tweed to third with one out. Tweed came around to score as Zach Albright grounded into a fielder’s choice, but the Rams couldn’t add any more runs.
The Rams loaded the bases in the third with two walks and a single by Desmond Thomas, but with two outs, Kole French grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. In the fifth, it was Gig Harbor’s turn to load the bases. The Tides scored one on a double play turned by North Thurston, and a two-run single extended the lead to 5-1.
The Tides turned up the heat in the seventh inning. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly brought home a run, cracking the dam before it fully broke. Nine consecutive batters reached after the first out, scoring nine more runs before the Rams finally stopped the bleeding.
North Thurston (1-1, 0-1 Puget Sound League) Friday at Central Kitsap.
