SELAH — The Burlington Sox earned Division I’s final berth to the state tournament, and haven’t slowed down since.

The Sox won their second straight game at the junior American Legion AA State Tournament on Sunday, pounding the host Yakima Valley Peppers 12-5.

“We looked really good,” Sox coach John Thurmond said. “We came out and played well early. Guys were ready to go. We had some opportunities. It felt good from the start.”

Burlington will face River Ridge, the only other undefeated team on its side of the bracket, at 7:30 p.m. tonight. The winner will have two chances to reach the championship game.

The Sox scored seven in the third inning, highlighted by Ambrose Maldonado’s two-run double. They added five more in the sixth, paced by Zach Livingston’s two-run triple. Burlington led 12-1 before Yakima Valley scored four late.

“It was fun,” Thurmond said. “We got a couple free passes, then were able to string hits together. We really took advantage of our opportunities.”

Troy O’Neill had a pair of hits for the Sox.

Matt Gunderson got the win on the mound, going four innings before leaving with a 7-1 lead. Thurmond said he wanted to limit Gunderson’s innings because he had appeared in relief the day before.

“He pitched really well,” Thurmond said. “If he hadn’t pitched the day before we would have left him in there, but we thought he’d had enough.”

Dylan Lloyd and Urban Morales finished up.

Stanwood Cannons 4
Shelton 2

KENNEWICK — Thomas Enquist drove in two runs as the Cannons stayed alive in the AA state tournament.

Enquist had two doubles and a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.

Walter Thomas had a double, single and an RBI, while Michael McCune drove in the other run.

Thomas picked up the win, allowing two runs on six hits in five innings. Josh Orcutt pitched the final two innings for the save.

Stanwood, the Division I District II champion, advances to a 2:30 p.m. game today against either Kennewick or Chehalis.

The Cannons lost their tournament opener on Saturday.

“We played much cleaner baseball today,” Stanwood coach Tony Wolden said. “We relied on our pitching and defense, and scored at opportune times.

“It was pleasant to see our team relax and play our brand of baseball.”

State A Tournament

University High 9
Burlington Sox 5

SPOKANE — Burlington pitchers issued 10 walks and hit two batters, knocking the Sox into the consolation bracket.

Matt Kinkel went 3-for-4 and drove in a run, David Erickson had two hits, including a double, and scored twice, and Cody Larson hit a two-run double for Burlington.

“We walked a lot of guys and had a few errors,” Burlington coach Herb Lehman said.

“We didn’t play the type of baseball we had been playing to get here.”

The Sox need two consecutive wins, beginning at 1:30 p.m. today against Moses Lake, to reach the championship game.