BURLINGTON — On paper, there would seem be little reason for the Burlington Sox junior American Legion A team to be worried about the Sedro-Woolley Cubs.
The Sox, the top seed heading into Wednesday’s first round of the Division I District 2 Tournament, brought with them a gaudy 18-3 record, having outscored their opponents by almost six runs per game during the summer.
But two of those three losses had come to the 6-15 Cubs, including a shutout and a 10-run defeat.
A seven-run third inning finally allowed the Sox to breathe a little easier. Burlington took an 8-2 lead with the rally, then hung on for a 9-6 victory in the first round of the tournament.
Burlington faces Ferndale at 5:30 p.m. today, while Sedro-Woolley has a loser-out game with Anacortes at noon.
After being outscored 17-7 during three regular-season games against the Cubs, Tigers coach Herb Lehman watched Sedro-Woolley jump ahead 2-0 in the top of the first.
“They’ve beaten us pretty good,” Lehman said. “They’re a really good team, despite what their record says. They have a lot of team speed. But the boys were focused. I knew we would get some runs. We just had to be patient.”
Tigers pitcher Stephen Perry settled down from there, allowing just one runner over the minimum in the next four innings.
The offense Lehman was looking for arrived wholesale in the third. Four of the first five batters recorded hits, including a ground-rule double from David Erickson that brought home two and gave Burlington its first lead. Jake Steiner followed with an RBI single to score Erickson and Perry added a two-run single later in the inning. By the end of the frame, the Sox led 8-2.
The Cubs would rally late, scoring twice each in the sixth and seventh, but it wasn’t enough. Clay Johnson led off the sixth with a homer down the left-field line for Sedro-Woolley.
Erickson finished 3-for-3 for Burlington. Perry was 2-for-4, and Michael Gallagher and Jordan Garcia each scored twice for the Sox.
Johnson and Jordan Wicker each scored twice for the Cubs. Harley Lee was 3-for-4 and scored a run. Brett Wood came off the bench for two hits.
Lake Stevens 13
Oak Harbor 3
Keanu Puha threw a two-hitter, allowing no earned runs in the game, which was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule. Puha also scored three runs. Lake Stevens scored seven runs in the fifth to end the game. Duke Dolphin tripled twice and drove in three runs.
Josh Evans drove in two for Oak Harbor.
Ferndale 7
Anacortes 4
Tanner Olson was 3-for-4 with three runs batted in for Ferndale, which scored four in the sixth to take the lead for good. Paul Fasthorse had an RBI triple during the four-run rally.
Luke Papadakis went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for Anacortes.
Arlington 4
Bellingham 3
Ben Larson had a walk-off two-run double to cap a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh. Casey Corcoran doubled and scored, and Kyle Bailey scored twice for Arlington.
Bellingham’s Karl Shilhanek threw only 79 pitches in the game, and scored two of Bellingham’s three runs. Chris Childs was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at
