by Trevor Pyle
Jordan Reed pitches for Burlington on Thursday.
BURLINGTON — The Burlington Sox junior American Legion A baseball team cut short a potentially enormous comeback by Ferndale Thursday in the Division I District 2 Tournament.
As a result, the Sox are one step closer to a district title.
Starter Jordan Reed threw five solid innings, William Garcia and Matthew Kinkel each had a pair of hits and the Sox survived a five-run seventh by Ferndale for a 13-10 victory to advance in the winner’s bracket.
Burlington built a sizable lead, and at one point were a base hit away from ending the game by the 10-run rule.
But Ferndale shoved back before Garcia closed out the game.
“I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but we were biting our fingernails a little there,” Sox coach Herb Lehman said. “They’re feisty and they’re always good at swinging the bats. But I knew our guys would tighten up and play good defense.”
Lehman was complimentary toward the play of Reed, who gave up three earned runs in five innings of work.
“Reed pitched five innings of good ball,” he said. “He threw strikes, and if you do that you’ll be successful at this level.”
Garcia, who started the game at shortstop, was 2-for-4 for the Sox including a two-run single in the sixth inning. Second baseman Kyle Tolf was 1-for-4 with a two-run double, and first baseman David Erickson added a run-scoring single.
Outfielder Jacob Steiner added an RBI single and designated hitter Nicholas Edson had a two-RBI double.
Kinkel added a 2-for-3 day with a pair of singles for Burlington (24-10).
“We hit the ball well,” Lehman said.
Ferndale’s Sean Locke had a two-RBI double, pitcher Brandon Berkompas had an RBI single Paul Fasthorse was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
Burlington will play Lake Stevens at 5:30 p.m. today at Burlington-Edison High School in the next round of the tournament. The top two teams advance to the state tournament, which begins Aug. 2 in Spokane.
Sedro-Woolley 13
Anacortes 11
Sedro-Woolley was the lowest-seeded team coming into the tournament, but toppled Anacortes to stay alive in the consolation bracket.
Center fielder Jordan Wicker was 2-for-5, shortstop Brett Wood was 1-for-4 with an RBI and third baseman Connor Crosby had two RBI for Sedro-Woolley, which will face Arlington today at noon. Matthew Swenson had three RBI.
For the Steamers, Tyler McKeen was 3-for-4 with four RBI, Preston Madden was 2-for-5 and Jonah Richards added a 2-for-4 day.
Bellingham 9
Oak Harbor 7
Avery Bahr and Karl Shilhanke each had two RBI to give Bellingham new life. Oak Harbor’s Adrian Richards was 3-for-5 in the loss.
Lake Stevens 8
Arlington 7
Lake Stevens put together a four-run sixth on the way to the win. Brandon Fiske was 3-for-4 with three RBI.
• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at
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