Legion AA off to hot start

The hits just keep coming for the Oak Harbor Junior Legion AA baseball team.

The hits just keep coming for the Oak Harbor Junior Legion AA baseball team.

The Wildcats, who cranked out 45 hits in their first four games, earned 10 more base knocks Thursday afternoon in a 5-3 league victory over Sedro-Woolley and improved to 4-1 overall.

“It’s been amazing,” head coach Jim Waller said. “Our on-base percentage is just phenomenal.”

Waller credits his team’s early offensive success to the tough high school competition the varsity players see in the Western Conference 4A. He noted the level of pitching takes a slight decline at the Legion level.

“We should hit the ball, if we didn’t I’d be pretty disappointed,” Waller said.

Oak Harbor started its newest hit parade during the second inning of Thursday’s contest. Mike Bressler began a rally of four straight hits with a one-out double. Jake Leete and Chris Valencia followed with two RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead.

Sedro-Woolley battled back against Wildcat starter Marshall Lobbestael in the third, scoring two runs on three hits.

Oak Harbor was quick to bounce back, however, scoring two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning.

Brendan Kays drilled an RBI triple over the left fielder’s head that rolled all the way to the 390-foot marker. Left hander James Leach followed that up with an opposite field RBI single for a 4-2 advantage.

The Cubs used an infield single, a walk and a hit batter to load the bases in the fourth. They then recorded their third run on a bases-loaded walk. Lobbestael worked his way out of trouble, however, and ended up going the distance. He scattered six hits and three earned runs over seven innings, while recording four strikeouts.

OH earned an insurance run in the fifth when pinch hitter James Smith — one of two Coupeville High players on the team — recorded an RBI single to score Leach.

Leading hitters for the Wildcats were Leach and Valencia, who both had two hits and an RBI.

Sedro-Woolley 002 100 0 — 3 6 2

Oak Harbor 022 010 x — 5 10 2

Lobbestael and Encinas. Amundson and Bennett. WP-Lobbestael. LP-Amundson.

OH 5, Sedro-Woolley 4

Oak Harbor picked up its first league win of the season Wednesday afternoon, beating the same Sedro-Woolley team 5-4.

A two-run home run by Lobbestael and RBI singles from Ernie Martinez and Kays were the big hits for the Wildcats. Kays also picked up the win on the mound, striking out eight over seven innings and allowing only one earned run. Sedro-Woolley’s three-run fifth was sparked by two OH errors.

Oak Harbor played at Stanwood last night and travels to Ferndale today, June 3 for a league doubleheader.

Oak Harbor 012 001 1 — 5 10 2

Sedro-Woolley 000 300 1 — 4 7 0

Kays and Encinas. Kononen, Best and Bennett. WP-Kays. LP-Best.