On a hot and sunny day at Parker Field in Yakima, the West Valley Rams beat Lynwood 10-6 and then Mt. Rainier 2-1 to advance to the state 3A Final Four at Safeco Field, the home of the Seattle Mariners.  The Rams will play O'Dea (16-7) at 10:00 am on Friday.  The other 3A semifinal game is Timberline (23-2) vs Bainbridge (18-7) at 1:00 pm.  The losers play Saturday morning at 10:00 for 3rd and 4th place and the winners play at 4:00 pm for the state championship.  Details of Saturday's games can be found below under Team News.

At a meeting of the head baseball coaches of the Columbia Basin Big 9 League, Cory Urquhart was voted as the Cascade Division's Co-MVP along with Brett Jacobs from Richland.  Jacobs won the award last year as a junior.  Urquhart was also voted as a first team shortstop for the 2nd year in a row. 

 

Senior Kurtis Wiles was also recognized as the first team all league second baseman.  Senior Kyle Siekawitch was voted as a 2nd team all league outfielder and Junior Justin Johnson recieved an honorable mention at the position of pitcher.

 

   

The GSL #4 seed Rogers upset the GSL #2 seed Shadle Park yesterday at Shadle Park to advance to the weekend's double elimination portion of the tourney at Shadle Park High School.  West Valley will take on Rogers at 5:00 pm, followed by Hanford (7-5 winner over East Valley) against the GSL's #1 seed Mt. Spokane. 

 

The winners of those 2 games play at 10:00 am Saturday morning and the loser's play at 1:00.  The winner to state, loser out game takes place at 4:00 pm.

 

All games are played at Al K. Jackson field on the campus of Shadle Park High School.

 

 

                     

The Rams held their annual awards banquet on Thursday evening, May 7 at the home of Randy and Judy Siekawitch and the following awards were presented: 

 

TEAM AWARDS (as voted on by players):

CAPTAIN:  Kyle Jones

CAPTAIN:  Kyle Siekawitch

CAPTAIN:  Cory Urquhart

MOST IMPROVED:  Dylan Bartlett

MVP:  Cory Urquhart

 

COACHES AWARDS (as selected by coaches):

SMALL BALL MVP:  Kyle Jones

PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  Justin Johnson

PITCHER OF THE YEAR:  Konnor Wyckoff

DEFENSIVE MVP:  Kurtis Wiles

MULE OF THE YEAR:  Brad Andreas

GOOD GUY AWARD:  Jon Thomson

OFFENSIVE MVP:  Cory Urquhart

TEAM MVP:  Cory Urquhart

 

2010 CAPTAINS (as voted by 2009 Varsity):

Casey Croshaw

Gil Plath

Garrett Olson

 

 

On the top menu above, there's a new item called "Summer Ball."  Below that is a link to the new West Valley Baseball Club and West Valley Bees website.  It is still under construction but includes preliminary schedules.  As we all know, schedules tend to change a bit prior to the start of the season.  The Club schedule should be very close to being finished and accurate.  The district and state tournaments were moved ahead one week this year so the same amount of games got crammed into one less week of baseball.  The Bees' schedule should also be close, but a few more doubleheaders are in the process of being scheduled.  Eisenhower's Cadet Baseball Club is hosting a kick-off tourney this year, so the Bees will be playing in 6 tournaments (typically which run Thursday through Sunday).  I am attempting to schedule one Tuesday or Wednesday doubleheader per week to fill out the Bees' schedule.

 

  

Facing the #1 ranked team in the state at Safeco Field with a chance to take 3rd place was motivation enough as the Rams scored 5 runs in the first 2 innings and held on to win 5-3 Saturday morning to earn the 3rd place trophy in the state tournament. 

 

"We had talked about ending the season with a win and these guys knew they had nothing to lose," said Coach Klayton Wyckoff.  "Before the game, we took a few minutes and just looked around the stadium to take it all in.  To end the season at Safeco Field with a chance to go out with a win and a 3rd place trophy... who could ask for anything more?" 

 

The Rams responded by scoring 3 runs in the first and 2 in the second to take a 5-0 lead.  In the first, Kurtis Wiles' single got things started and Kyle Jones and Cory Urquhart singled to load the bases.  Walks to Kyle Siekawitch, Brad Andreas, and Garrett Olson plated the Rams' 3 runs.  "Thank goodness for Timberline's wildness because their pitcher did strike out the side in the first inning sandwiched around his bases loaded walks."

 

In the second inning, Wiles led off with a single and Kyle Jones once again came through witha big double down the right field line on a hit and run to score Wiles from first.  Urquhart followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 5-0.

 

Rams starter Konnor Wyckoff was once again effective against a very good hitting Timberline team by scattering 11 hits.  "Typically when you give up 11 hits, you haven't thrown the ball very well but that wasn't the case with Konnor," said Wyckoff.  "He never gave up more than 1 hit in any inning except for the 4th when he gave up 4 hits and the 5th when he gave up 2 hits."  Timberline scored 2 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th to pull within 5-3 but that's all they could muster against Wyckoff. 

 

"There's a reason that Timberline was ranked #1 in the state and had won something like 23 games on the year, but Konnor isn't your typical high school pitcher.  He tends to be better against the better teams since they are more aggressive and he showed that today."

 

With the win, the Rams secured their second 3rd place finish in school history, matching that of the 1995 Rams who also took 3rd place.  Current Rams' pitching coach Josh Pearce was on that 1995 team.  The Rams' highest finish was in 1977 and 2003 with both team falling in the state championship game.

 

"I'm super proud of these guys and the way they really came together.  To end the season with a win is something they can be proud of for the rest of their lives.  There's only 2 teams in the state who can say that, and that's the state champs and the team who wins the consolation final," said Wyckoff.  "And to do it all at Safeco Field is just something that I'll never forget.  That whole experience, with this group of kids and coaches, amazing.  And like I said after the game, I want to be back next year!" 

 

The Rams finished the year with 18 wins and 9 losses.   

Things started well for the Rams in the first inning as starter Justin Johnson set down the Irish in order in the top of the first inning and then responded with a run in the bottom of the first to go ahead 1-0.  Leadoff hitter Kurtis Wiles walked and Kyle Jones successful hit and run put runners at the corners with no outs.  Using unconventional baseball wisdom, the Irish opted to walk Cory Urquhart to load the bases.  A balk scored Wiles from third but that was all the Rams would get.

 

O'Dea scored 2 runs in the 2nd to take a 2-1 lead but the Rams responded in the bottom of the 4th.  Kyle Siekawitch led off with a single and was sacrificed to 2nd by Brad Andreas.  Garrett Olson's RBI single scored Siekawitch to tie the score at 2.

 

In the 5th, the Rams went ahead on Urquhart's lead off single (after being intentionally walked in his previous 2 at bats), Tucker Leppa's push bunt single, and Siekawitch's 2nd single of the game.  Urquhart scored on a passed ball to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. With the infield playing in, Andreas grounded to second for the first out.  Lukas Hinton hit a line drive to the left of the third baseman who dove and made the catch for the second out.  Olson bounced to shortstop for the 3rd out.  "To only get one run out of that situation really hurt," said Wyckoff.  "Lukas' ball could have scored 2 and then we'd have the momentum but instead, O'Dea gets out of it and they now have the mometum and that carried right over into the 6th inning."

 

In the top of the 6th, the Irish loaded the bases on a single, a hit batter, and a walk with nobody out and went on to score 4 runs in the inning, which was enough to beat the Rams by the final score of 7-3.

 

With their hopes of a state title dashed, the Rams will return to action Saturday morning against the loser of number 1 ranked Timberline vs Bainbridge. 

   

Erupting for 14 hits, the Rams easily defeated the Lynwood Royals 10-6 on Saturday, May 23 in the 1:00 pm game of the state quarterfinals.  The Rams led 10-1 entering the 7th and Lynwood scored 5 runs to make it interesting but the Rams held on to secure their spot in the 4:00 pm game against Mt. Rainier with a  berth in the Final Four at Safeco Field on the line.

 

Against Lynwood, every Rams starter had at least one hit in the game.  Starter Justin Johnson pitched into the 7th inning and had allowed only 1 run on 2 hits before things got a bit shaky in the 7th.  Kyle Jones came on to close out the game and the win for the Rams. 

 

Offensively for the Rams, Kurtis Wiles was 3-for-3 with a double.  "I have no idea how that ball didn't get out," said Coach Klayton Wyckoff.  "There's a yellow fence topper all the way around the top of the fence at Parker and Kurt's ball hit the yellow, bounced straight up, and then fell back in play.  Another half inch higher and the ball would have bounced over!"  Kyle Jones, Tucker Leppa, and Kyle Siekawitch each added 2 hits. 

 

In the 4:00 pm game, the Rams were faced with the daunting challenge of playing 21-game winner Mt. Rainier of Burien.  "We watched them play Hanford and there was no doubt that they were very good.  Big, athletic, and well-coached," said Wyckoff, "but once again, we had played big athletic teams before so to the kids' credit, they weren't going to back down."  Mt. Rainier starter Kyle Johnson was as good as advertised, striking out 4 of the first 9 batters he faced.  "I was very impressed with him.  Not only did he have a good fastball with great control, he had a change up and a tight breaking ball to complement the other pitches.  But the biggest thing with him is that he never lost his composure." 

 

In the bottom of the first inning, Rams starter Konnor Wyckoff was touched for 2 singles, the latter by the cleanup hitter Andrew Larson-Pulver to drive in Johnson to put the Mt. Rainier Rams up 1-0.  "At that point, I told the coaches sitting next to me that Konnor could beat them.  He had good stuff and great control and their hitters were very aggressive.  But the big question remained could we manufacture a run or 2 off Johnson and hold their potent offense in check?" 

 

For a few innings, that question remained in doubt as Johnson mowed through West Valley's offense, allowing only a first inning single to Cory Urquhart.  He had faced 1 hitter over the minimum through 3 innings when Urquhart stepped to the plate in the 4th inning and belted a 2-0 fastball over the wall in left field to tie the score at 1-1.  But at the same time, Wyckoff was equally as effective for West Valley.  He allowed a single in the second and a single in the 3rd inning, but after Urquhart's heroics in the top of the 4th, things got very interesting in a hurry.  A leadoff walk to Gio Bonoficio followed by a double to Josh Potter put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs.  On the play, Bonoficio slid into Rams' third baseman Garrett Olson causing Olson's nose to bleed and bringing the trainer onto the field.  After about a 10-minute delay, play resumed.  "Right then and there, I told Coach Pearce sitting next to me... 'this is game right here,'" said Wyckoff.  With the infield playing in, Konnor Wyckoff induced a ground ball to Urquhart at shortstop who looked the runner back and got the easy out at 1st.  A walk to Kevin Smith loaded the bases with 1 out.  9-hole hitter Loren Gardner-Young popped out to catcher Brad Andreas for the second out, and then leadoff hitter Alex Codd grounded to Wiles at second for the third out.  "Absolutely huge to get out of that situation without allowing a run.  The defense really came through right there."

 

West Valley went down in order in the top of the 5th, as did Mt. Rainier in the bottom of the 5th.  In the 6th inning and with 2 outs, Urquhart again came through in the clutch by lining a single to right field on a 2-2 count.  With Urquhart running on the pitch, Tucker Leppa drove the ball into the right center field gap to easily score Urquhart from first.  "I don't know how much more clutch you can get than that," said Wyckoff.  "It was obvious that Johnson was tough and we were going to need someone else to step up besides Cory who had all 3 of our hits up to that point and Tucker did exactly that."

 

In the bottom of the inning, Wyckoff allowed a one out walk and a sac bunt moved him to second with 2 outs, but Smith flew out to center field to end the inning. 

 

In the top of the 7th, Garrett Olson singled with 2 outs but that was it.  The stage was set for the Rams to hold on and win the game and send them to Safeco Field.

 

The leadoff hitter grounded out to Wiles at 2nd for the first out.  Codd stepped to the plate and hit the first pitch to Urquhart at shortstop for the 2nd out.  Again first pitch swinging, Des Santos hit a ground ball just out of the reach of Urquhart at shortstop for a single.  "Not what I wanted to see coming to the plate," said Wyckoff.  "3-hole hitter Johnson who could end the whole game with one swing of the bat.  But on the first pitch, he lofted a routine fly ball to center field.  When the ball was hit, I just looked at the stands and it was incredible.  It was almost like a slow motion sequence.  The ball was hit and they cheered when it was hit in the air, but then there was that split second where they stopped yelling as they watched the flight of the ball and it finally land in Mickey's glove and then they just erupted.  One of the neatest things I've ever experienced as a coach.  That is a something that I'll never forget."

 

The Rams now travel to Seattle to participate in the Final Four at Safeco Field.  They open Friday at 10:00 am against O'Dea.  "At the beginning of the week, I gave every player a small piece of paper with the Safeco Field logo printed on it and told them to prominently display it somewhere where they would see it often.  I told them that every action they took that week, every word they spoke, every ground ball they fielded, every ball they bunted, every swing they took, every assignment they turned in... everything they did that week was in preparation to be playing at Safeco Field and to not leave anything to chance.  We had a great week of practice and it really showed on the field.  The coaching staff couldn't be more proud of the accomplishments of this group of young men.  It is an incredible feeling to be headed to Seattle to play at Safeco Field.  It's obviously something that we'll all remember for the rest of our lives." 

 

 

West Valley beat Rogers of Spokane Friday night 22-5 and Hanford 10-2 Saturday morning to win the regional title and secure a spot in the state round of 16.

 

Against Rogers, the Rams pounded out 23 hits (10 of which went for extra bases).  8 of the Rams' 9 starters had at least 2 hits.  Kyle Jones led the attack going 4-for-5 with 3 doubles and 6 RBI.  Tucker Leppa also added 3 doubles.  Cory Urquhart had a double and a triple, and Lukas Hinton had a 3-run triple.  Urquhart, Leppa, Hinton, and Garrett Olson each had 3 hits while Kurtis Wiles, Kyle Siekawitch, and Brad Andreas each chipped in 2 hits. 

 

Saturday morning, the Rams played Hanford in the championship game and came away with the 10-2 win.  "The way the bracket was set up, even though we were the #1 seed and Hanford was a #2 seed, we were still the visitors which didn't make a lot of sense," said Coach Klayton Wyckoff, "but we stressed the fact that gave us the opportunity to score first and to set the tone early and we did by putting up 3 runs in the first and 5 in the second." 

 

The Rams were held scoreless in the 3rd inning, bringing to end a string of 18 consecutive innings that the Rams had scored against Hanford.  "Going back to our league doubleheader and the district championship game, we had scored in every inning against Hanford," said Wyckoff.  "It's not something that I ever brought up to the players until we put up a zero in the 3rd inning."

 

Kyle Jones added another 2 hits, including a 2-run home run in the 5th inning.  Urquhart, Olson, and Wiles each had 2 hits as well. 

 

For the 2-game weekend, the Rams scored 32 runs on 34 hits and only committed 1 error. 

 

"We get to play another week and with high school baseball, anything can happen.  These guys deserve every bit of success they are achieving right now since they've worked so hard to get to this point.  It has been a wonderful season so far, but we're not done yet," said Wyckoff.  "It's been 3 long years since we've been in the state tourney so we're not expecting anything less than to play the game the way we play it and let things take care of themselves.  But we've been around long enough to know that you've got to be a little bit good and a little bit lucky once you get this far."

 

In the first game Saturday at Parker Field, Mt. Rainier (20-5) will take on Hanford.  In the 1:00 pm game, West Valley will play Lynwood.  The winners will play at 4:00 for the right to advance to the final 4 at Safeco Field. 

 

 

Using 3 home runs and 3 doubles, the Rams scored in every inning en route to the 12-7 district championship game win over Hanford on Saturday at West Valley High School.  The win improved the Rams' season record to 13-8.  They advance to the regional semifinals on May 15-16 at Shadle Park in Spokane.  They will play the winner of the Rogers-Shadle Park game (to be played May 12) at 5:00 pm on May 15. 

 

The big inning for the Rams was the 2nd as they scored 5 runs to extend their lead to 6-1.  All 5 runs scored with 2 outs.  "Our first 2 guys were quick outs, and Mickey (Onustock) worked the count to 2-2 and drove a fastball right up the middle and we went on to score 5 runs," said Coach Klayton Wyckoff.  The big hit was a 2-run double by Kyle Siekawitch. 

 

In the 3rd inning, Garrett Olson homered and 2 batters later, Kurtis Wiles also homered to extend the lead to 8-1. 

 

But in the top of the 4th, Hanford scored 5 runs to pull them to within 2 at 8-6.  Dylan Bartlett relieved starter Justin Johnson and promptly ended the inning.

 

In the top of the 5th, Onustock once again got things going with a 1-out single.  2 batters later, Kyle Jones hit his 2nd home run of the season way over the fence in left field to push the lead to 11-6.  "That was a big hit.  Not only because of the runs, but because Hanford had taken the momentum of the game and we took it right back with that hit by Jones," said Wyckoff.

 

The Falcons added a run in the top of the 6th as they loaded the bases with a walk, single, and walk with nobody out.  Jake Vetsch came in the got a pop up to the catcher, a run scoring fly ball to right, and a ground ball to 2nd to end the inning.  "Absolutely huge for Jake to do what he did in that inning.   A couple of hits right there and Hanford is right back in it, and possibly even with the lead," said Wyckoff. 

 

The Rams added another run in the bottom of the 6th to extend the lead to 12-7 and Vetsch pitched a perfect 7th inning to secure the win and the district title for the Rams.

 

 

 

 

 

  

The Rams scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th and 2 more in the bottom of the 6th to take a 5-3 lead over the Eastmont Wildcats and then held on in the top of the 7th to escape with the 5-4 win and salvage the split.  Eastmont won game one 9-2.  The split moves the Rams' league record to 7 wins and 3 losses and their overall record to 12 and 6.  The only remaining league games are next Tuesday as the perennial 4A state powerhouse Richland visits West Valley for the league ending doubleheader.

 

In game one, nothing could go right for the Rams as they committed 4 errors and left numerous runners on base.  "We absolutely just couldn't get the big clutch hit.  I think we had at least 2 baserunners nearly every inning," said Coach Klayton Wyckoff.  "We put the ball in play hard and they had a few errors which gave us chances, but they would make the plays when they needed to."

 

Offensively for the Rams, Kurtis Wiles, Kyle Jones, and Lukas Hinton each had 2 hits for the Rams. 

 

In the second game, Eastmont sent their University of Washington bound ace Jordan Osborn to the mound and stifled the Rams offense through 4 innings.  "When it was 2-0, I told Vande that it seems like we're down 9-0.  Osborn would set us down 1-2-3, and then we'd go play defense for a long time.  Then we'd come back and he'd do the same to us.  He was tough," said Wyckoff.

 

But the Rams finally got to him in the 5th.  Down 2-0, Kyle Siekawitch hit a 3-1 fastball for a single and Hinton was hit by a pitch.  With one out, Casey Croshaw hit a hard grounder to shortstop that was misplayed for an error to load the bases.  Kyle Clark hit a towering fly ball to right field that got behind the right fielder to score two runs.  Wiles followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to score Croshaw and push the Rams out front 3-2.  But Eastmont responded in the top of the 6th.  A leadoff walk to Matt Huylar was followed by an RBI double by Buzz Biles.  "I think the most important thing to remember in that inning is that they have already scored the tying run and they have a runner on 2nd with nobody out and they didn't score that go ahead run," said Wyckoff.  Dylan Bartlett got 2 ground outs to second base and one to the pitcher to end the inning.

 

In the bottom of the 6th and the score tied at 3-3, Cory Urquhart and Tucker Leppa each flew out to quickly record 2 outs.  Kyle Siekawitch again got things going with a sharp grounder to shortstop which was misplayed for an error.  Hinton followed with a walk and Gil Plath also walked to load the bases with 2 outs.  Croshaw lined a 1-2 pitch up the middle to score Siekawitch and Hinton to give the Rams the 5-3 lead.

 

But things got interesting in the 7th.  Wildcat 3-hole hitter Osborne singled and stole second base.  Kyle Dockins followed with a single but Osborne was held at 3rd base.  Tygar Garces followed with a single to score Osborn and put runners on second and third with zero outs.  "That's how explosive Eastmont's line up is," said Wyckoff.  "3 hitters into the inning and they've scored and have the tying run at 3rd and the go ahead run at 2nd."  Kyle Jones relieved Bartlett and got Cody Brunner to ground out to second on a great play by Kurtis Wiles.  With one out and infield still playing in, Huylar grounded to Urquhart at shortstop who made the play at first.  With 2 outs and the infield back, Biles grounded out to Wiles to end the game.  "That was a very gutsy performance by Jones to get 3 ground ball outs to close it out for us."

 

The Rams have a bye this Friday before hosting Richland next Tuesday in a 2:00 pm doubleheader. 

 

     

In game one, Rams starter Konnor Wyckoff was tagged for 4 runs in the first 2 innings but settled down to keep Walla Walla's offense off balance through the 7th inning.  The Rams forced extra innings and in the 8th inning, Mickey Onustock's 2-out RBI single pushed the Rams ahead 5-4 but couldn't hold the lead as Walla Walla scored 2 in the bottom of the 8th to win it 6-5.

 

In game 2, Justin Johnson struck out 13 in the complete game effort and the Rams held off a furious Walla Walla rally in the bottom of the 7th inning to escape with the 6-4 win.  Johnson walked the bases loaded in the 7th with nobody out.  He got the 3-hole hitter to strike out on a 3-2 curveball, then got the clean up hitter to bounce into the 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

 

The Rams return to action Tuesday against Eastmont at home at 2:00 pm.

 

 

Bouncing back from a difficult defeat to Davis on Monday, the Rams redeemed themselves on Tuesday by scoring 7 runs in the first inning en route to the 12-2, 6 inning win over the visiting Pirates.

 

Tucker Leppa got the offense started in the first inning.  With 2 outs, Cory Urquhart walked and Leppa followed with a line drive home run well over the fence in left center field.  Consecutive singles by Kyle Siekawitch, Brad Andreas,  and Lukas Hinton followed by a walk to Casey Croshaw, then an error by the Davis shortstop allowed leadoff hitter Kurtis Wiles to step to the plate and lace a 2-run single to make it 7-0.

 

Rams starter Jake Vetsch worked 3 2/3 innings and allowed only 2 hits while striking out 1 and walking 3.  Kyle Jones came on in the 4th inning with runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 outs and 2 runs already in and got leadoff hitter Marcus McClurkin to ground out to 2nd base on the first pitch to end the inning.  Jones finished the game, going 2 1/3 innings and allowing zero hits and zero runs while striking out 2 and walking one.

 

"I thought our pitching was outstanding today," said Coach Klayton Wyckoff.  "Both Jake and Kyle have been limited in their number of innings pitched simply because our other starters have been going so deep into games.  They both worked ahead and hit their spots and with the exception of a couple of walks, it was a very well-pitched game."

 

Offensively for the Rams, every starter had at least one hit in the game.  Hinton finished with 3 hits while Wiles, Leppa, and Siekawitch each added 2. 

 

The Rams travel to Walla Walla Friday for a 3:00 pm league doubleheader. 

 

 

Facing a very tough left handed pitcher in Michael Calderon, the Rams couldn't muster much offense and fell 3-2 at Davis yesterday.  The loss moved the Rams' record to 9-4 overall.

 

Dylan Bartlett relieved Lukas Hinton in the 4th inning and allowed zero runs in his 3 innings of work.

 

Offensively for the Rams, Brad Andreas and Garrett Olson each doubled, and Cory Uruqhart hit his 5th home run of the year in the 6th inning to make it 3-2 but that was as close as the Rams could get.

 

West Valley hosts Davis in another single game today at 4:00 pm.

 

 

 

West Valley traveled across town to rival Eisenhower's home field and came away with a 18-3 and 15-0 divisional sweep on Friday.  The wins moved the Rams' overall record to 7-3 and divisional record to 3-1.  

"Going into the games, we knew they weren't very deep on the mound and we wanted to put the pressure on them and get to their bullpen, and that's obviously what we were able to do in both games," said Rams Coach Klayton Wyckoff.  "We've been working extremely hard on situational hitting and these guys really understand it.  In my opinion, the turning point in game 1 came after Cory (Urquhart) led off the 3rd inning with a double and Tucker Leppa moved him over to 3rd like we work so hard on doing.  And we went on to score 4 in the inning and then their starting pitcher (Tyler Berman) was done).  Something so simple as moving a runner absolutely ignited our dugout."

 

Rams starter Konnor Wyckoff battled through 4 1/3 innings, allowing 6 hits and 4 walks and 3 earned runs, 2 of which came in the first inning.  "The umpire had a very tight strike zone and that limited Konnor's effectiveness," said Wyckoff.  "But he got many groundballs and our infield turned 3 doubleplays to end potentially big innings.  Ike has some very good hitters but Konnor was just good enough today to keep them in check."

 

Offensively for the Rams, Leppa finished 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and a 2-run home run.  He also hit a home run last year at Ike's field.  Sophomore Lukas Hinton and Mickey Onustock both had 3 hits, and Kurtis Wiles, Urquhart, and Kyle Siekawitch each added 2 hits as the Rams pounded out 18 hits.  Every Rams starter had at least one hit in the game.

 

In game 2, Wiles led off the game with a double.  2-hole hitter did his job by moving the runner to third with a ground ball to 2nd base, and Urquhart followed with a 2-run blast well over the fence in left field.  A walk and 4 more singles in the inning plated 3 more runs for the Rams as they ended the inning with a 5-0 lead and that was all the offense Rams starter Justin Johnson would need, though the Rams went on to score 15 runs on 10 hits and took advantage of 4 Eisenhower errors.

 

"Justin was phenomenal today.  Power type pitchers typically have higher pitch counts but he worked ahead and challenged hitters today.  He was at 69 pitches heading into the 6th and he wanted to finish it, but he walked the first hitter and that was enough," said Wyckoff.  Johnson finished with 6 strikeouts and allowed 5 hits and 2 walks. 

 

Offensively, Brad Andreas and Onustock each had 2 hits.

 

The Rams return to action Tuesday for a single game at 4A non-divisional opponent Davis.  Game time is scheduled for 5 pm.