And down the stretch they come! This past week, Rainier Valley's beloved boys and girls of summer (in this case, spring) pushed on with their season, plying their passion on various fields of dreams throughout the South End. This week's recap features the following games:
MAJORS DIVISION
COASTAL KITCHEN 7 - STEWART LUMBER 3
Bradley Bloedel struck out five and walked none in five strong innings, as Coastal Kitchen remained undefeated in Rainier Little League play. Kai Wiseman added three hits, and Joe Hardy two, to lead the Kitchen to their 12th victory against no losses. Andre McRae and Azor Cole each tripled and scored runs to pace Stewart Lumber.
DR. BAKER'S BRACERS 12 - PRESTIGE AUTO BODY 1
Joe Renner pitched three scoreless innings and struck out six to lead second place Dr. Baker's Bracers to a 12-1 victory over Prestige Auto Body on May 15 at Rainier Playfield. Jack McDonald, Tyler Monroe, Evan Reason, Roland Woodiest and CJ Stucker paced Dr. Baker's hitting, as the Bracers broke the game open in the third inning to seal the victory.
COASTAL KITCHEN 3 - STEWART LUMBER 1
In a game featuring great defense and pitching, Coastal Kitchen eked out another close victory, this time over Majors Division rival Stewart Lumber on May 15. Jalen Norman had a key base hit for the Kitchen, and Evan Banchero later scored the first run of the game to help the Kitchen take the lead. Caleb Angel came up big for the winners in the final inning and scored an insurance run on a double by Kai Wiseman. Bradley Bloedel, Joe Hardy and Jannaro Ealy-Peredo teamed up on the pitching end for Coastal. Zach Heimrich pitched four strong innings and Azor Cole added two hits in a losing cause for Stewart Lumber.
COASTAL KITCHEN 5 - PRESTIGE AUTO BODY 2
Connor Jalbert drove in the first run of the game with a single in the third inning to jump-start Coastal Kitchen on May 12. Pitchers Bradley Bloedel, Joe Hardy and Jannaro Ealy-Peredo once again served up the hot stuff for the Kitchen, who improved to 10-0 in Majors Division play.
DR. BAKER'S BRACERS 12 - SEATTLE STEELHEADS 1
Tyler Monroe powered Dr. Baker's Bracers to victory with a bases-clearing blast to deep right center in the second inning on May 12. Evan Reason added two bases-loaded triples of his own for the winning nine. Joe Renner pitched three scoreless innings and Jack McDonald went three-for-three as the second-place Bracers won again to remain in second place in the Majors Division.
MINORS DIVISION
BURDICK'S SECURITY 6 - MONTGOMERY GREY SOX 4
The Burdick Security Black Hawks defeated an improved Montgomery Grey Sox team by a score of 6-4 on May 17 at Rainier Playfield. Dominick Lewis continued his hot hitting with a towering two run home run that was the decisive blow in the closely fought contest.
ALL CITY FENCE 16 - WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE 1
The All City Fence Green Falcons beat the rain and then beat the Windermere Ravens 16-1 in Minors Division action on May 17 at Rainier Playfield. Kendall Fouriner pitched a complete game for the Falcons, while also getting on base five times and scoring three runs. Raven Jaspar Wyman took advantage of a rare base on balls from Fouriner, and proceeded to steal every base until he slid home for Windermere's lone run.
NELSON TRUCKING 13 - WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE 1
The Nelson Trucking Rockets cruised to a 13-1 win over Windermere Real Estate in Minors Division action on May 17 at Van Asselt Field. Rocket batters were led by Morya Echols, who had a two-run triple and an RBI single. Starting pitcher Nate Wilcox combined with relievers Henry Jacobson, Jackson Droege and Avichai Almoslino to strikeout nine Windermere batters. Windermere pitchers battled valiantly, racking up five strikeouts of their own, but could not keep the Rockets off the base paths.
BURDICK'S SECURITY 8 - WINDERMERE 4
On May 15 the Burdick's Security Black Hawks rebounded from two straight defeats to best the Windermere Ravens 8-4 behind the effective pitching debut of Josh Friedland. Peter DeFranco continued his hot hitting with a clutch double to drive in two runs and secure the victory for Burdick's, who remained tied for first place in the Minors Division.
South End writer and league booster Lee Jacobson may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.[[In-content Ad]]
