SHORELINE — Down to their final strike in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Shorewood Thunderbirds got the clutch hit they needed to send the game to extra innings, and in the eighth they pushed across an improbable run for a 3-2 victory over Lynnwood on Friday night.
In the dramatic eighth inning, Shorewood loaded the bases with a leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk and, one out later, another walk. T-birds first baseman Brendon O’Brien stepped to the plate and with an 0-1 count was hit in the shoulder by a pitch from Lynnwood starter Lucas Jungmann, forcing in the winning run.
For Shorewood, the outcome was about as thrilling as any game could be. “What a great high school baseball game,” said T-birds coach Wyatt Tonkin with a grin.
But for the Royals, the defeat could hardly have been more heartbreaking. “It’s definitely the toughest loss I’ve ever had as a coach,” confirmed Lynnwood’s Fraser Dizard.
For most of the game, Jungmann and Shorewood starter Cole McKisson waged a terrific pitching duel. Lynnwood scored first in the fourth with an RBI double by Kyler McMahan, bringing home teammate Lawton Manipon from second base. The T-birds answered in the bottom of the inning with a single from Max Wagner that scored teammate Spencer Jacobs from second.
The Royals went on top again in the top of the sixth, and the run was largely due to the speed and base running savvy of Manipon, who led off the inning. He reached first on an infield error, stole second with one out, and then made a daring break for third while McKisson still had the ball on the mound. McKisson’s hurried throw to third skipped away for an error and Manipon was able to score.
That run appeared huge in the bottom of the seventh as Jungmann retired the first two batters on a strikeout and a flyout. But O’Brien reached second base on an outfield error and Edney slapped a 1-2 pitch into left field for the game-tying run.
Against Shorewood ace Ian Oxnevad, a reliever this night, Lynnwood had runners at the corners in the top of the eighth but could not score. The T-birds then got the game-winner in the bottom of the inning, setting off a jubilant celebration among the Shorewood players and their fans.
The T-birds, said Tonkin, “believe in themselves. And they believe in our philosophy here of pitching and defense. We don’t give up a whole lot of runs, and they believe that if we can hang around we can make something happen.”
The win clinches the Wesco South title for Shorewood, which has the tie-breaker and a two-game lead with two to play. The T-birds will also go into the district playoffs as the No. 2 seed (the Wesco North champ will be the No. 1 seed).
Lynnwood, meanwhile, is also headed to the district tournament, and Dizard stressed that fact to his disappointed squad after the game.
“I told my guys to keep their heads up because we played well,” he said. “And we still have two (regular-season) games and then the playoffs, so the season will go on.”
Against Shorewood, he added, “I thought we came out and played hard. We battled and we fought with pretty much the league championship on the line. I thought we played well, but a couple of breaks just didn’t go our way.”
At Meridian Park
Lynnwood00010100—271
Shorewood000100011—353
Lucas Jungmann and Brady Gircus; Cole McKisson, Ian Oxnevad (8) and Nick Edney. WP-Oxnevad; LP_Jungmann. 2B_Kyler McMahan (L). Records_Lynnwood 11-5 league, 12-6 overall; Shorewood 13-3, 15-3.
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