The Northwest Christian baseball team was three outs away from its first district title in team history, leading Quilcene 7-3 entering the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday.
What occurred next was a five-run ninth inning for the Rangers to walk off the Wolverines and win the district title with an 8-7 verdict.
“That one's gonna hurt for a long time,” Northwest Christian head coach Jordan Potis said. “Unfortunately, things just fell apart in the bottom of the ninth. Gotta give credit to those guys for fighting to the end and never letting the pressure up.”
Northwest Christian, in its first district title game since 2008, was led by ace Marshall Guyer on the hill as he sliced through the Rangers lineup. He retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, including six via strikeout.
The Wolverines took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI single by Myles McLain. Luke Nickel added a run in the fourth with a sacrifice fly.
The Rangers finally strung hits together off Guyer in the sixth inning, bringing two runs home with back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game.
Guyer pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on just two hits while walking three. He struck out 13 batters.
But by the time Guyer exited the game, there was still more baseball to play as both teams were deadlocked entering the eighth inning.
Northwest Christian's Spence Coleman came up clutch in the top of the eighth with a two-out RBI single to give the Wolverines a 3-2 advantage. Quilcene's leadoff hitter in the bottom of the eighth singled and came around to score on a Northwest Christian error, sending the game to the ninth.
The Wolverines erupted in the top of the ninth with four runs, ignited by an RBI double by Jack Vahey, who then scored on an error on the next at bat. Bennett Hall added an RBI single, and Jadon Dillingham capped off the frame with a sacrifice fly.
But, Quilcene answered emphatically with its district title hopes in danger. The Rangers brought six batters to the plate, and all five reached base, and five scored. A two-run single by Max Canterbury allowed the Rangers to walk off with the district title.
“Marshall was sensational on the mound today. We needed to do a better job of stringing together hits to support him and end that game before it got to extras,” Potis said.
Next up for Northwest Christian (12-6) is the 1B State Tournament, which begins with the opening round May 19.
