Pepsi’s pitching paves way to a title berth

Wilson tossed five scoreless innings of two-hit ball with 10 strikeouts, as Pepsi broke open a 4-1 lead with five runs in the top of the seventh inning to secure a 9-2 victory over East Cascade Electric in a baseball semifinal matchup played at Kramer Field in The Dalles.

“Kade throws a great fastball. He can place it really well and he has a very good curveball and off-speed pitch to keep batters off-balanced,” Pepsi head coach Chad Smith said. “This year, he has been very consistent and very composed on the mound. So, he has really been a team leader for us. He’s only 13-years-old playing on a 15-year-old Babe Ruth team. His batting is outstanding, and he is a solid player.”

Of the 15 outs recorded, Wilson did not allow a flyball out and registered three putouts from the mound, a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop and groundball to first base.

He gave up hits to Trenton Schacher and Jaxon Pullen, walked three and hit a batter, and struck out the side in the second and fifth innings.

“We definitely played as a team and we were confident,” Wilson said. “When we play like that, we are tough to beat. It feels good to win this game, but we haven’t done anything yet. We still have to come out strong tomorrow and get that ‘W.’”

Wilson and Spencer Guscette scored a run apiece in the first two innings to give Pepsi its 2-0 lead until the fourth, when the team added two runs on two hits and two walks for a pair of runs to extend the lead to 4-0.

Brock LaFaver and Carson Smith started the fourth inning with back-to-back walks.

Guscette drove in LaFaver on a double to right field and one out later, Jack Morgan cashed in Smith with an RBI infield single.

ECE had a rally going in the bottom of the sixth, as Pullen singled, Evan Baldy reached on a walk and Hedges drove in Pullen with an RBI single.

With runners at second and third base and one out, LaFaver, Pepsi’s reliever, struck out the next two batters he faced to escape the jam.

In the seventh, ECE’s Gavin Lutgens was hit by pitch and both Colin McLoughlin and Schacher were walked.

Lutgens wound up scoring on a wild pitch to make it a 9-2 ECE deficit, with Pullen, the No. 2 hitter, coming up.

LaFaver had his 1-1 pitch get away from Guscette, but the Pepsi catcher fired the ball to third base, where McLoughlin was tagged out to end the game.

Due to a broken nose, Pepsi’s Josh Taylor played with a face mask, and he walked and scored a run and was on the mound for the final out of the seventh inning.

Taylor’s teammate, Keon Kiser, played while under the weather, but both athletes were key assets on offense and defense.

LaFaver said their toughness and grit were inspiring components that helped motivate a Pepsi squad that had to fight its way back after an extra-inning, one-run loss last week versus this same ECE team.

“They definitely set the example of playing even though they weren’t 100 percent,” LaFaver said. “I am proud of them for stepping up. They really kept us going by staying in there. It is the playoffs and I know all of us want to be there for each other in any situation.”

Overall, ECE posted four hits, had two hit batters and seven walks, but stranded nine runners, six in scoring position and had two runners thrown out on the base paths.

Schacher was 1 for 2 with two walks, Pullen added a hit and a run scored, Conner Cummings was 1 for 2 with a hit by pitch and both Baldy and McLoughlin went 0 for 1 with two walks each.

On the mound, Schacher, ECE’s starter, gave up four runs on four hits with four walks and a strikeout in three innings to get the losing decision.

“I am very proud of all those boys. It was a great year,” ECE head coach JR Pullen said.

Guscette paced the Pepsi offense with two hits, a walk, a hit by pitch, a run scored and an RBI.

LaFaver went 2 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored, Wilson was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch and two runs and Carson Smith added a 1 for 3 effort with a walk, a run and an RBI.

Morgan chipped in a hit, a walk and RBI, Manatu Crichton-Tunai added a hit, and Kiser finished 1 for 4 with a run scored.

“What won us this game was our pitching and the confidence we had at the plate,” LaFaver said. “We hit the ball and we were aggressive on the bases.”

After that tough loss last Thursday, coach Smith rallied his troops, wanting them to keep playing hard until they were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Pepsi stormed back for two consecutive wins to move into the title game against Spooky’s Pizza.

“This feels really good, because we were the No. 1 seed going into the last game and we lost that by one to ECE,” coach Smith said. “So, there was a little bit of redemption coming in, so we have actually battled our way up through the loser’s bracket to get into the championship. For my team to battle like that, it is just phenomenal. These kids have earned where they are. We are gelling at the right time and I am very proud of them all.”

After the final, all-stars will be in action.