Eatonville Splits Two-Game Series With Clover Park

The Eatonville Cruisers baseball team split a two-game series against the Clover Park Timberwolves last week, dropping a narrow 6-5 decision on the road Tuesday before bouncing back with a convincing 9-3 win at home on Wednesday.

In Tuesday’s opener, the Cruisers outhit Clover Park 4-3 but couldn’t hold on to a late lead. Eatonville entered the sixth inning up 5-3 before Clover Park’s Rayson Jonas delivered the game-winning blow — a bases-clearing double to left field that gave the Timberwolves a 6-5 edge they wouldn’t relinquish.

Ethan Evans paced Eatonville at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple and driving in three of the Cruisers’ five runs.

Despite the loss, Eatonville turned the page quickly and flipped the script in the rematch the next day.

Backed by a breakout performance from Ben Smith, the Cruisers surged past Clover Park 9-3 on Wednesday. Smith went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, playing a hand in nearly half of Eatonville’s run production. He singled in a run in the third and drove in another in the fifth, also drawing a bases-loaded walk as the Cruisers capitalized on defensive miscues from Clover Park.

Eatonville struck first in the top of the third, scoring twice on a Colton Herbrand groundout and a Smith single. After Clover Park responded with three runs in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead, Eatonville fired back with four runs in the top of the fifth — highlighted by Smith’s RBI walk and three Timberwolves errors that led to runs.

The Cruisers tacked on three more in the sixth to put the game out of reach.

On the mound, Michael Laird earned the win with a strong relief outing. The right-hander threw 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, striking out two, and issuing no walks. Starter Brody Thirtyacre struck out six over 3.1 innings but battled control issues, walking five and giving up three runs on just one hit.

Eatonville showed strong discipline at the plate throughout the contest, drawing eight walks. Evans led the way with three free passes, while the team also turned a double play defensively.

With the split, the Cruisers remain in the thick of league play and look ahead to a busy week. They’ll travel to Fife to face the Trojans on Tuesday, April 8, before hosting the same squad the next day. Eatonville wraps up the week on Friday with a non-league road game at Lake High School.