Senior Night Bittersweet for Cruisers as Orting Ends Four-Game Winning Streak
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
The Eatonville Cruisers celebrated six seniors and two managers on a special Senior Night Tuesday, but the festivities came with a difficult result on the field.
The Orting Cardinals snapped Eatonville's four-game winning streak with a 9-1 victory May 5 at Eatonville, then returned the following afternoon to close out the Cruisers' regular season with a 10-0 shutout. The back-to-back losses dropped Eatonville to a 7-7 league record and 9-8 overall, landing them fifth in the 2A South Puget Sound League standings.
Tuesday's Senior Night defeat was particularly hard to swallow after Orting erupted for six runs in the top of the first inning to take an immediate stranglehold on the contest. The Cardinals' early outburst set the tone for the evening, and Eatonville's offense never found an answer against Orting's starter, who worked all seven innings, surrendering just four hits while striking out eight.
Senior Colton Herbrand took the ball for Eatonville and absorbed the loss, pitching four and one-third innings while giving up nine runs, seven of them earned, on 10 hits. He struck out three and walked four. Despite the rough outing on the mound, Herbrand still managed to get a hit at the plate, one of four the Cruisers collected on the night. Senior Cjay Russell, along with Scout Horan and Ryder Herbrand rounded out the offense. Senior Waylon Berg drove in Eatonville's lone run. The Cruisers showed some defensive sharpness, turning two double plays.
Following the final out, the moment shifted from baseball to appreciation. Coaches, players and fans gathered to honor the six seniors who have helped shape the program: Mims, Jose Cruz Diaz, Santiago Ruvalcaba, Herbrand, Berg and Cjay Russell, along with managers Dane Moeller and Stacie Devera.
Head Coach Doug Fillbach did not hold back his emotions.
"I will miss these seniors a lot," Fillbach said. "They are the first group that I have coached all four years from freshman year to senior year. Their leadership this year has been very important to the team that we have become. I am proud of who they have become and I am excited to see what they go on and accomplish."
If Tuesday was difficult, Wednesday was more of the same. Orting returned to finish the regular season series and handed the Cruisers a 10-0 defeat, with Eatonville's offense mustering just three hits. Berg, Colton Herbrand and Lj Osborn each had a hit, but the Cruisers could not generate any sustained pressure against a pitcher who threw six shutout innings.
Ryder Herbrand took the starting assignment and was handed the loss, going two and two-thirds innings while allowing three runs, one earned, on two hits, striking out two and walking six. Horan pitched three innings in relief, giving up seven hits and seven runs.
Eatonville did turn a double play in Wednesday's game as well, showing the kind of defensive instincts that have defined much of this team's identity throughout the season.
Despite the difficult ending to the regular season, the Cruisers still earned a berth in the 2A district playoffs as the No. 11 seed. They will face sixth-seeded North Kitsap in a loser-out first-round game Monday, May 11, at North Kitsap High School, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. The Vikings finished tied for second in the 2A Olympic League with an 8-6 league record and a 9-7 overall mark.
A Cruiser victory Monday would set up a second-round matchup against the Steilacoom Sentinels at Steilacoom High School the following day.
For six seniors, Monday will be another chance to extend their high school careers. For all of them, the work this program put in over four years will not be forgotten.
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