The North Whidbey 11-12 baseball team kept its state tournament hopes alive when it roared back from an 8-run deficit to defeat South Skagit 12-11 in nine innings Monday, July 12, in the district tournament at Windjammer Park.
The local club will now face Sedro-Woolley in a loser-out game tonight, July 13, at 6. The winner advances to the championship round against undefeated South Whidbey Wednesday, July 14, at 6 p.m.
In the win over South Skagit, North Whidbey mixed a solid defense and Preston Rankin’s timely hitting with a heavy dose of Blake Smith to pull out the win just before the game was about to be suspended for darkness.
Rankin’s triple scored Smith, who had singled, from first in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete North Whidbey’s comeback.
South Skagit jumped all over North Whidbey in the top of the first with six hits and seven runs.
NW quickly got three back when Smith homered with Alex Harrison and Ben Fikse aboard.
South Skagit added another run in the third and three in the fourth to up is lead to 11-3. That’s when Smith took over on the mound. The tall left-hander blanked the visitors over the next 4 and two-thirds innings, struck out 11 and gave his offense an opportunity to get back into the game.
North Whidbey struck for four runs in the fourth. Kellan Mebane (Robert Herring pinch ran) and Jared Hunt walked; Jackson Wezeman singled in Herring. Tyler Snavely tripled in two more and scored himself on an error.
In the fifth, Smith homered for the second time. One pitch later Rankin hit his first of two triples then scored on a wild pitch. That made it 11-9.
North Whidbey needed two in the sixth and things looked bleak when the first two hitters were retired. Snavely then appeared to ground out for the final out, but the South Skagit first baseman dropped the throw and that opened the door for NW. Fikse singled to put runners at first and third.
South Skagit elected to intentionally walk the dangerous Smith and face Rankin. Down to his last strike, Rankin fouled off two tough pitches before stroking a two-run single to knot the game at 11.
South Skagit had an opportunity to score in the sixth when it had two one with no outs. Smith then struck out two and shortstop Kevyn Johnson made a diving catch of a line drive to stop the threat.
South Skagit also threatened in the ninth when it loaded the bases. With two outs and one on, Smith was forced to leave because he met the pitch limit (85) and Harrison took over on the mound. Harrison was greeted with two singles, but he got out of the jam with a pop fly to center.
That set up Rankin’s game-winning triple.
