2A District Baseball: Miscues allow Tumwater to walk off with 1-0 win over Columbia River in district title game
May 17-CENTRALIA - Columbia River baseball coach Stephen Donohue knows that every game against Tumwater is going to be a battle.
He was just hoping Saturday's matchup against the Thunderbirds wasn't going to end like the 2022 state championship game.
Unfortunately for Donohue and the Rapids, it did.
Charlie Crawford lined a triple to right field with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. When the throw into third base eluded the Rapids, Crawford scrambled home to lift Tumwater to a 1-0 win over River in the 2A District 4 championship game at Centralia College.
It brought back bitter memories of River's 2022 title game in which the Rapids fell to Tumwater 1-0.
"We got the better of them the last two times we played," Donohue said. "They got us this time. But we might see them again at some point."
That was the coach's underlying message to his players after a gut-wrenching defeat on Saturday.
"Obviously, a district title is cool and everything," Donohue said. "But honestly, the trophy just kind of sits in the top of our trophy case at school when we win it. But it's like I told them is the real thing that matters is next weekend (in the state playoffs). We've obviously proven we're good enough to play with anybody."
The Rapids played with the Thunderbirds evenly for more than six innings as River pitcher Ryan Chatham traded zeros with Tumwater's Braeden Konrad.
"He was outstanding," Donohue said of Chatham. "He's not firm, but he throws strikes and changes speeds really well. His last outing against Mark Morris, we needed to win that game, and he gave up one run in like 75 pitches. And today against one of the best teams in the state, he kept us in the game. ... We couldn't have asked for anything more out of our third starter."
River had as many hits as Tumwater - four - and they got a runner to third in the first, fourth and sixth inning. But River just couldn't find that clutch hit.
With one out in the seventh, Crawford lined a rocket to right field. A momentary misread in the outfield allowed the ball to sail to the fence.
As Crawford easily trotted into third base, the throw into third got away and rolled into the dugout, allowing Crawford to score.
"We made a couple of mistakes there," Donohue said. "But like we told the kids, when there's a zero on the scoreboard, it's hard to win."
W.F. WEST 2, R.A. LONG 0 - Hayden Rooney and Emmett Goodman combined on a four-hit shutout as W.F. West eliminated the Lumberjacks in a district third-place game in Chehalis.
The Bearcats scored two runs in the second inning, and solid pitching made it stand up. Rooney pitched 5.1 innings, striking out six. Goodman got the final five outs without allowing a hit.
R.A. LONG 5, ABERDEEN 4 - Jonah Cadigan had a three-run triple as part of a four-run first inning as the Lumberjacks held off Aberdeen in a loser-out game.
Riley Young, Jeff Rooklidge and Evan Hart had two hits each.
W.F. WEST 6, RIDGEFIELD 2 - The Spudders had their season ended with a loss in a loser-out game.
Caleb Tortora went 2 for 3 with two runs and two doubles for the Spudders.
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