The West Central legion baseball team played four games in two days fighting their way through the loser’s bracket in the Region 5B tournament, but they fell short against Garretson in the championship game. The tournament was held in Humboldt Tuesday, July 21st through Thursday, July 23rd.
Wed, July 22nd – Garretson 4, West Central 0
In a semifinal game on Wednesday, both teams had seven hits in the game, but Garretson blanked West Central 4-0. Garretson scored a run in the top of the first. They continued to lead 1-0 until the top of the fourth. Garretson added two runs in the top of the fourth and another in the top of the seventh to advance to the championship game.
Cooper Ball had two of the seven hits for the Garretson. Taylon Sichmeller had a double. Hayes Cain, Hayden Whiting, Kane Grace, and Max Lewin all had one hit each. Aiden Lueth pitched six innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts. Lewin pitched one inning and allowed an earned on two hits with one strikeout.
Wed, July 22nd – West Central 7, Salem 6
In an elimination game, West Central took an early lead and held off Salem to advance to the championship game. Each team scored two runs in the first inning. West Central picked up a single run in both the second and third innings for a 4-2 lead. They got two more in the top of the fourth to extend the lead to 6-2. West Central added one more run in the top of the sixth for a 7-2 lead. Salem rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 7-6, but West Central stopped the rally and held them scoreless in the seventh for the win.
Whiting had three hits, one a double, and three RBIs. CJ DenBoer, Andrew Holtzman, and Ball all had a single with an RBI. Cain and Lueth both had a single. Jett Whiting tossed all seven innings and allowed six runs, just two earned, on seven hits and three walks with six strikeouts.
Thu, July 23rd – West Central 4, Garretson 2
Three early runs helped West Central defeat Garretson to force the “if necessary” championship game. West Central scored two runs in the top of the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the second for a 3-0 lead. Garretson picked up two runs in the top of the fourth to make the score 3-2. West Central added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth.
Ball had a single with two RBIs. DenBoer, H. Whiting, Holtzman, and J. Whiting all had one hit each. Cain pitched seven innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
Thu, July 23rd, – Garretson 15, West Central 5
After West Central scored a run in the top of the first, Garretson put together a six-run bottom of the first to take the momentum. West Central scored twice in the top of the second to cut the lead to 6-3, but Garretson had another six-run inning in the bottom of the second to extend the lead to 12-3. They added two more in the bottom of the third for a 14-3 score. West Central put two runs on the board in the top of the fourth, but Garretson got a run in the bottom of the fourth for a 15-5 lead. The game ended on the 10-run rule after the top of the fifth.
Cain had three hits, including a home run, with two RBIs. Ball had two hits and two RBIs. DenBoer had a single, and Lando Whiting had an RBI.
