Cruisers Cage Grizzlies, Clinch District Playoff Berth

All games are important throughout the baseball season, but none were more important than the Cruisers final game of the season against the Hoquiam Grizzlies.

The two teams had split their two-game series earlier in the season and were both tied for 4th place in league play. A win by either team would send them to the district playoffs and a loss would end the others season. If that didn’t make the game important enough, it was also Senior Night for the four seniors on the team playing in what could possibly be their last game.

With their season on the line, Head Coach Doug Fillbach would hand the ball to Payton Hanly to get the start on the mound for Eatonville. Hanly had pitched the Cruisers to two of their four wins already this season. Hanly wouldn’t disappoint.

In front of a large home crowd, the junior starter would pitch 4.1 innings of three-hit ball while only giving up two runs and striking out five. He would give way to freshman Colton Herbrand, who had picked up one of the Cruiser wins earlier in the year, in the top of the 5th inning to finish the game. Herbrand would hold the Grizzlies scoreless for the final 2.2 innings to pick up his first career save as the Cruisers defeated the Grizzlies 3-2 to lock up fourth place in the 1A Evergreen League and clinch the #4 seed into the 1A SWW District Playoffs.

Offensively, Eatonville would do all their damage early, scoring all three runs in the second inning.

Eatonville's Joe Suver looks towards the Cruiser dugout and celebrates as he got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second inning. Eatonville would go on to win 3-2 to clinch a berth into the district playoffs. Photo: Sara Rath

Senior Joe Suver would get the scoring started when he ripped a line drive to left field scoring Copper Field who had singled to start the inning. Brody Thirtyacre would reach on an error by the third baseman that would drive in Aaron Tozier who had reached on an error earlier in the inning. Colton Herbrand would finish off the scoring when he drove a hard-hit ball past the shortstop to score Suver to give the Cruisers a 3-1 lead.

The Grizzlies would pick up one more run in the 5th inning before Herbrand took over and shut them down.

Coach Doug Fillbach expressed his pride in his team, saying "It was great to see our seniors come out and produce in their final home game. We battled hard and earned this win. Payton and Colton were outstanding on the mound, and our offense came through when we needed it. We're excited to move on to the district playoffs and see what we can do. I’m proud of the team for finding a way to keep their season alive.”

Eatonville will face tough competition in the district playoffs, but with the momentum from this win, they are optimistic about their chances.

BOX SCORE

EATONVILLE 3, HOQUIAM 2

Hoquiam: 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 | 2 4 4

Eatonville: 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 | 3 6 3

WP: P. Hanly

LP: J. Templer

SV: C. Herbrand

Highlights: J. Suver 1-3, R, RBI | C. Herbrand 1-3, RBI, SB | C. Field 1-3, R | B. Thirtyacre 0-3, RBI, SB

Eatonville finishes the regular season with a 4-14 overall record and were 2-10 in league play and finished in fourth place.

Next Up: The Cruisers will head to La Center to take on the #1 seeded Wildcats out of the TriCo league in the first round of the SWW 1A District playoffs. That game will take place Monday, May 8th at Castle Rock High School at 4 pm.