Junior Little League Baseball: Central Whidbey wins again, reaches state semis

The Central Whidbey Junior (13-14) Little League baseball team moved one game closer to the state title with a 9-5 win over Fort Vancouver at Medical Lake High School Tuesday, July 20.

Central Whidbey challenges the winner of Richmond/West Valley in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.

In the win over Fort Vancouver, the third straight triumph for the CW club in the tournament, Central Whidbey jumped to a 4-1 lead. Fort Vancouver responded by trimming the margin to 4-3 before Central Whidbey padded the lead with a five-run fifth.

Morgan Payne's two-run double highlighted the big inning.

Coach Chris Tumblin said, "As a whole, we once again had solid defense and timely hitting."

Tumblin said there was one defensive breakdown, however, and his team "probably should have won 9-1."

He noted that "we don't expect our pitchers to strike everyone out" and the coaching staff expects the defense to help carry the load.

Brendan Ameluxen-Coleman added a triple to Payne's double to lead the offense.

Tumblin said there were no single hitting stars in the game: "Almost everyone had hits and there were very few strikeouts."

Central Whidbey challenges the winner of Richmond/West Valley in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.

In the win over Fort Vancouver, the third straight triumph for the CW club in the tournament, Central Whidbey jumped to a 4-1 lead. Fort Vancouver responded by trimming the margin to 4-3 before Central Whidbey padded the lead with a five-run fifth.

Morgan Payne's two-run double highlighted the big inning.

Coach Chris Tumblin said, "As a whole, we once again had solid defense and timely hitting."

Tumblin said there was one defensive breakdown, however, and his team "probably should have won 9-1."

He noted that "we don't expect our pitchers to strike everyone out" and the coaching staff expects the defense to help carry the load.

Brendan Ameluxen-Coleman added a triple to Payne's double to lead the offense.

Tumblin said there were no single hitting stars in the game: "Almost everyone had hits and there were very few strikeouts."

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

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