The Northwest Christian baseball team erased an early four-run deficit and knocked off Ocosta 12-11 in a thriller Monday in Westport.
The Wolverines fell behind 5-1 in the third inning but tied the game in the fourth thanks to clutch hits from Kanakoa Paresa, Myles McLain and Luke Nickel, the latter knotting the score at 5-5 with an RBI single.
Ocosta jumped in front 7-5 in the fourth, and after a bases-loaded walk by Marshall Guyer in the fifth, Bennett Hall tied the game on an RBI single. Jack Vahey pushed the go-ahead run across with a sacrifice groundout, but the Wolverines were far from done despite having two outs in the frame.
Paresa connected on a two-run single to give Northwest Christian a three-run advantage, and Jadon Dillingham scored to cap off a six-run sixth inning.
Ocosta got three runs back in the bottom of the sixth, making it a one-run game. The Wolverines took a 12-10 lead in the seventh with Hall’s bases-loaded walk.
The Wildcats gave their best effort in their attempt for a walk-off victory. Against reliever Paresa, Ocosta put two on with one out, and a dropped third strike allowed a run to score. A walk loaded the bases, but Cox played clutch defense behind the plate to end the game. First, he picked off a runner at third base for the second out, and Cox caught a runner stealing third for the final out.
“That game came down to the wire. Both teams made a lot of mistakes I’m sure they would like to have back, but fortunately we were able to outlast,” Northwest Christian head coach Jordan Potis said. “We had some really clutch hits late. I was happy to see them continue to work good at bats late in the game even while being down. That really speaks to their growth this year.”
Northwest Christian finishes the regular season with an 11-5 record and a 4-4 mark in the Sea-Tac League. The Wolverines earned the No. 3 seed in the District 2 1B Tournament and will face No. 2 seed Crosspoint Christian May 12 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in the district semis, with the winner advancing to state. Crosspoint Christian swept Northwest Christian in March, winning the first game 8-4 in Lacey and triumphing 6-1 in Kitsap County.
