Centralia snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday, earning a 9-3 victory over Black Hills on its home turf just one day after being run-ruled by the Wolves on the road.
“I got to tip my hat to them,” Centralia coach Jake LeDuc said. “After getting beat 10-0 (Tuesday), the kids could have rolled over and said our season is over. But they showed up ready to go.”
Wyatt Van der Hoeff “set the tone” early on, retiring the first six batters he faced, and Jonah Lowe drove in three runs with a single in the bottom of the second to put Centralia on the board.
Hudson Waterfield made it 4-0 with an RBI single of his own in the third, but Black Hills responded with three runs in the fourth to get back within one.
Centralia continued to add on, though, scoring once in the fourth and twice in both the fifth and sixth to rebuild the lead and tack on some insurance runs.
“We had baserunners every inning,” LeDuc said. “We were running the bases aggressively and we took advantage of their errors. Something we've talked about as a staff is that we have not been having good timely at bats … Tonight, we finally did. All the little things that we haven't been able to do, and we were finally able to do them tonight.”
Van der Hoeff ended up pitching six innings, allowing just two hits and three runs while walking six and striking out eight. He made way for Caden Erickson, who struck out two in a perfect seventh.
Lowe finished with a team-high three runs batted in, while Shawn Holmes added two and both Van der Hoeff and Erickson added one. Erickson finished with two hits, and six other Tigers finished with one each.
Asher Strauss finished 1 for 3 and picked up Black Hills’ two RBIs. The Wolves’ other run came when Brody Rice sprinted home on a wild pitch.
With the result, Black Hills (3-9, 1-7 2A EvCo) and Centralia (2-12, 1-8 2A EvCo) are now tied in the win column for fourth in the EvCo standings, which is the last playoff spot. If they remain tied heading into their final meeting on May 7, the regular season finale, the winner of that game will take the EvCo’s final district tournament spot.
There’s plenty of action left before then, though, starting on Friday. Black Hills will head across town to face Tumwater, while Centralia will head to W.F. West.
“I love being out here with the kids,” LeDuc said. “This year’s group, they’ve had no quit all year long … We have battled with everybody. It would be huge to see us go out and get a win over somebody else. If we can keep playing with that little chip on our shoulders and refuse to go away, something good can happen there.”
