Offensive struggles haunt Oak Harbor | Legion

Lack of offense hindered the Oak Harbor Legion AA baseball team as it dropped four of its past five games.

Last weekend at the Lynden Lightning Wood Bat Tournament, the Wildcats defeated Mount Vernon 10-6 and lost to Bellingham 4-3, Mount Baker 2-0 and Lynden 9-2.

Tuesday, visiting Stanwood stopped Oak Harbor 2-1 in a league game.

Bellingham scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on a walk, error and single to defeat the Wildcats in the tournament opener.

Oak Harbor rapped out eight hits but couldn't bunch enough together in the one-run loss. Brandon Bailey collected two hits and David Kusnick ripped a double. Nate Stanford, Jack Richter, Mike Maletto, Anthony Stewart and Daniel Wolfe added singles.

Richter received little offensive support as he pitched a five hitter in the loss to Mount Baker. Cory Cameron and Tabor Rupp each had two hits for the 'Cats; Richter also singled.

Oak Harbor's one offensive outburst, the 10-6 win over Mount Vernon, is misleading because the Wildcats scored all of their runs in one inning.

Down 4-0, Oak Harbor erupted in the fifth behind four walks, a hit batter and singles by Cameron, Stewart, Teddy Peterschmidt, Maletto and Wolfe.

Maletto finished 2-for-4 and Andrew Snavely hit a double.

Lynden scored eight runs over the first three innings to bury Oak Harbor. The Lightning had seven hits, only one more than the Wildcats, but were aided by nine walks.

Maletto was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI, Stewart was 2-for-2 with a run and RBI, and Cameron and Richter each singled.

Against Stanwood, Oak Harbor's first batter, Grant Schroeder, singled and eventually scored on Richter's ground out, and that was it for the Oak Harbor scoring.

Schroeder, the starting pitcher, kept his team in the game but the Wildcats couldn't score another run although they got the leadoff hitter on base in four of the six final innings.

Snavely was 2-for-3, and Maletto and Kusnick also singled.

Oak Harbor (1-2, 2-5) plays at Stanwood at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 7, then hosts Sequim in a noon doubleheader Saturday.

Contact Whidbey News Times Sports editor Jim Waller at jwaller@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5060.

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