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Friday Harbor baseball team
clinches league crown in extra-inning thriller
Story by Matt Pranger
Photos by Sharon Kivisto
posted 05/08/2006
Friday Harbor High School's baseball team clinched the Northwest A/B League title by shaving Coupeville 7-6 in 11 innings Monday, May 8 at Hartman Field. Facing two outs and two strikes, winning pitcher Richie Ochoa drove the ball to the left center wall. Matt Rothlisberger, who reached on a single, raced from first base to score the winning run in the three-hour game.
"That was pretty amazing," said Friday Harbor coach Rich Warin. "We've got a good group of kids."
"Our guys never gave up," said Friday Harbor assistant coach Steve Schramm. "They just kept pounding away."
"Coupeville's got a good team," Schramm added. "We both earned each other's respect."
The Wolverines, the top team in Class A District No. 1, advance to a playoff seeding game against Seattle Christian, the No. 1 team from District 3. That contest is tentatively set for 2 p.m. Monday, May 15 at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon. "That's a big game so we can stay close to home," Warin said.
The winner of the Friday Harbor-Seattle Christian seeding game will play in the first round of the State Class 1A Baseball Championships in Anacortes. The loser travels to White River High School in Buckley for the first round, scheduled for Saturday, May 20. Winners of first-round games play again on May 20 in a quarterfinal contest. The quarterfinal winners advance to the state final four at Yakima on May 26-27.
Friday Harbor jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Coupeville. Jesse Woodruff led off with a homer. Matt Rothlisberger was hit by a pitch and scored on a home run by Ochoa.
In the second, Michael Knowles doubled and Woodruff drove him in with a single.
The Wolverines went up 6-0 in the third inning. Chas Lawson reached base on balls and Eric Rothlisberger rapped a base hit. They scored on a Forrest Crawford's base hit.
The Wolves chipped away at the lead, scoring one run in the fourth, three in the fifth and two in the seventh.
Both teams had several scoring opportunities in the extra innings but their defenses held until the bottom of the 11th. After a strikeout and a line out, Matt Rothlisberger connected for a flair base hit. With two outs and Ochoa down to his final strike, Friday Harbor coach Rich Warin sent Rothlisberger on the pitch. Ochoa smashed the ball. It one-hopped into the wall. Rothlisberger zipped home to a celebration.
Friday Harbor finishes the regular season 11-1 and 14-14 overall.
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