by Trevor Pyle
Anacortes shortstop Braiden Darling stretches for a catch
American Legion Northwest Class A Regional Tournament
At Volunteer Field, Anacortes
ANACORTES — Bradly Munns and the rest of the Utah Bees made sure Anacortes’ stint in the winner’s bracket of the American Legion Northwest Class A Regional Tournament was a short one.
Munns threw a four-hitter, Anacortes committed seven errors and Utah beat the Steamers 15-1 on Thursday in the second round of the tournament.
While the Steamers are still in the running for the regional championship, their road got tougher, starting with a 4:30 p.m. game today against Chehalis.
Munns threw all seven innings, gave up four hits, struck out three and walked three.
“He threw strikes and was always round the plate. If you’re always around the plate it’ll be pretty fun for you,” Utah coach Mike Hollingsworth said. “He only walked a few guys and he kept his velocity up.”
A pair of big defensive plays in the fourth inning helped Munns and the Bees (22-6). First, right fielder Kyler Webb ranged far into foul territory to snag a fly for an out; two batters later, Webb quickly cut off a single and threw to the cutoff man as Utah got an out at the plate.
While Utah flashed sparkling defense at time, they also got an unusual break in the sixth when a ball skipped off shortstop Derek Leishman’s glove — right to second baseman Kyle Sawley, who got the force on the runner chugging from first.
Anacortes didn’t have such luck defensively, committing seven errors, three of which brought home runs immediately.
“We didn’t play very well,” Anacortes coach Pat Swapp said. “(Utah) had some good at-bats and they’ve got good team speed.”
Webb was 1-for-3 with a two-run double, Mumms notched a pair of two RBI and Dylan Schickel, the Bees’ third baseman, was 2-or-3.
Catcher matt McArthur was 1-for-3 with a single.
Two Utah runs came in on bases-loaded walks. Another came in when a batter was hit by a pitch with the bases full.
Anacortes shortstop Braiden Darling was 1-for-3 and scored the Steamers’ only run.
Next up, the Steamers (17-26) will face a 41-6 Chehalis squad that notched a 6-2 win over Lewis and Clark on Thursday. Chehalis had lost its first-round game 4-2 to Ashland.
“They’re as good as any team here,” Swapp said. “If we play like we did last night (Wednesday) we can play with anybody.”
Vauxhall (Alberta) 5, Ashland (Ore) 2
The Spurs busted out for four runs in the eighth to help power themselves to a second-round victory over Ashland.
Shortstop Brock Leavins and first baseman Clay Turcato had singles in the inning and third baseman Mike Brown had a double to help them surge ahead. Leavins added an RBi bunt in the third inning. Brown was 2-for-4 for Vauxhall.
Shortstop and leadoff batter Nick Hall was 3-for-5 for Ashland.
Wheatland (Wyo.) 24, Fairbanks (Alaska) 0, loser out
Wheatland bounced back from a tournament-opening loss to Anacortes with a thrashing of Fairbanks that was shorted by seven innings by the 10-run rule.
Wheatland knocked 17 hits in the victory. No. 9 batter Eric Heatherly was 3-for-5, second baseman Blake Vaughan was 2-for-4, third baseman Dave Castle was 2-for-3 and catcher Jake Montoya was 3-for-6.
Chehalis 6, Lewis and Clark (Id.) 2, loser out
Pitcher Robert Pehl slammed a solo home run and pitched a complete game to help power Chehalis to the victory.
Pehl scattered seven hits across nine on his way to the win. He struck out four.
