The Timberline baseball team fought back from an eight-run deficit with a spot in the district tournament on the line, but the Blazers’ comeback fell short in an 8-5 loss to Bellarmine at Lincoln High School Wednesday in a district play-in game.
A win would’ve clinched a district tournament bid, which would’ve been the first in two years for Timberline.
Blazers starter Adrian Williams pitched two spotless innings before Bellarmine brought a run across home plate in the third inning. A couple of errors helped the Lions plate another run in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 4-0 advantage.
The Blazers had an opportunity to chip away in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but Derek Sanchez and Zane Fraser couldn’t cash in. Bellarmine then had the same scenario in the sixth, with the bases loaded and one out. The Lions capitalized, scoring four runs and chasing Williams off the mound.
Facing an eight-run deficit, the Blazers finally strung together hits and baserunners in the sixth. Jr. San Nicolas doubled, Marley Gamble walked, and Caleb Bacon’s RBI double put the first run on the board. Gamble also scored on a wild pitch, but Timberline left a runner at third.
In a relief effort, Gamble pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to give the Blazers their best opportunity to shoot for a comeback. Blake Rickert led off the seventh with a double, and after Fraser walked, San Nicolas drove in two with a double. Dalton Abbott grounded into a fielder’s choice to cut the margin to three, but the Blazers left two runners on base to end the game.
“This was a really tough one. I felt really good about our preparation, and we had Adrian going, who has been solid for us all year. Adrian threw great, but we didn’t execute enough defensively to be successful,” Timberline head coach Doug LaPalm said. “Offensively, it took us a little too long to get the bats going. These kids work really hard, and it’s a tough way to go out.”
Timberline (8-12, 8-8 Puget Sound League) will visit Yelm (11-10, 10-6 South Puget Sound League) Thursday in the final game of the season.
