High School Baseball: Ilwaco blitzes Toledo in District quarterfinal (UPDATED)
PHOTO GALLERY – Fishermen slide headfirst into semis with 11-1 win at home over Riverhawks
Luke Roth (Mid-Major Media) special to BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com
2B Prep Baseball / District Quarterfinals
LONG BEACH – Toledo had already emptied the tank once Saturday and came up empty in its attempt for a second cruise at the beach.
After beating Onalaska a morning thriller to advance in the 2B District IV baseball tournament, the fourth-seeded Riverhawks from the Central 2B League ran headlong into a rested, top-seeded Ilwaco team from the 2B Pacific League in the quarterfinals.
Behind a fast start at the plate and a steady effort on the mound, Ilwaco run-ruled Toledo 11-1 in six innings on Tinker Field at Culbertson Park in Long Beach.
“We really just played about as clean as we’ve played in a while,” Ilwaco head coach Bret Hopkins said. “It seems like they’ve been waiting for the postseason to kick into high gear and I think we’ve done it – I think we’ve found another gear.”
The final stanza of the mid-afternoon mercy rule affair was a far cry from Toledo’s rabid comeback for a 10-7 victory over Onalaska in the tournament opener earlier in the day in Long Beach. That do-or-die victory appeared to leave the Riverhawks’ running on fumes in enemy territory.
“It didn’t go our way. I wouldn’t liked to see us compete a little more in Game 2,” Toledo head coach Mack Gaul said. “Ilwaco’s a really good team and capitalized on the mistakes we made.”
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