San Juan Islander -- daily news and information about the San Juan Islands

Search San Juan Islander

Friday Harbor High School Baseball playoffs
2000 season

Matt Pranger photos
Above: Friday Harbor's baseball team posed with their third-place Class A trophy before their loyal fans at Yakima Community College. Right: Freshman Russ Reyes shows off his home-run ball.

Reyes' rap clears fence;
Hartford closes career with complete game


By Matt Pranger
Friday Harbor could’ve taken the sullen route and moped through the Class A State Baseball Finals consolation game yesterday, May 27 at Yakima Community College. Instead the Wolverines, backed by about four dozen dedicated and vocal fans, closed the 2000 season by drenching their coach with a cooler full of water after an 8-3 victory over Seattle Christian.

"It wasn’t quite what we wanted…but we came back today and showed a lot of heart," said senior Forrest Hartford, who hurled the last win of his high school career. "I was really happy being part of this team."

"I had a great time. It was a great experience," said Russ Reyes.

The freshman designated hitter, as one umpire said, "CRUSHED" a pitch over the left field fence for his first homer of his high school career. "I hit it really square," said a jubilant Reyes, who soared around the bases with his arms up. "I knew if it stayed fair it’d go out."

"The kids played a great game. They had a great tournament," said Friday Harbor coach Rich Warin.

Junior Tyler Williams threw 10 innings of four-hit ball the night before against eventual champ Okanogan, and after only 14 hours’ rest he came through at first base as steady as Yakima’s persistent winds. He hit 2-for-4, including a triple, and drove in three runs.

Friday Harbor scored a run in the first three innings and held a 3-2 lead before breaking out for five runs in the bottom of sixth. With one out, sophomore Charlie Herbert and freshman Fletcher Vynne hit singles. Sophomore pinch runner Ashley Gosselin and junior pinch runner John Mason advanced to second and third after a balk by Seattle Christian’s Dave Strode. Sophomore Dave Woldvedt smacked a base hit, driving home Mason. Adam Posenjak, a pinch runner for Woldvedt, stole second before sophomore Jacob Ross was intentionally walked to load the bases. Senior Jordan reached base on balls, and Mason scored. Williams rapped a single, driving in Posenjak and Jacob Ross.

The Warriors didn’t put away their war chests, though. With one out, Ted Bakke took his base on balls, went to third after a wild pitch and scored on John Hagensen’s ground-out

Seattle Christian’s Ted Bakke led off the game with a single and scored on a base hit by Nate Lindseth.

In the bottom of the first, Jacob Ross reached base on balls, stole second and went to third on an errant pick-off throw and scored on a sacrifice by Jordan Ross. Reyes slapped his solo homer in the second. Williams’ triple in the third drove in Jacob Ross, who reached base on balls, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.

The Warriors closed the gap to 3-2 in the fifth. Justin Peloquin singled and advanced to third on Nick Lindseth’s double. Matt Whitehead drove in Peloquin on a sacrifice fly.

Friday Harbor finished the season 16–3, the best overall record by any Wolverine baseball team.

Okanogan blasts Brewster 13-1 for title

The Okanogan Bulldogs battered Brewster 13-1 in five innings Saturday, May 27 at Yakima County Stadium to win their second Class A State Baseball Championship.

Okanagon shaves Friday Harbor
4-3 in 10 innings

Okanagon edged Friday Harbor 4-3 in a roller-coaster extra-inning semi-final Class A Baseball Tournament game Friday, May 26 at Yakima Community College.

The game lived up to its billing as a pitcher's duel as two evenly matched juniors went the entire game. Okanagon pitcher Bryce Chamberlin threw 16 strike-outs; Friday Harbor's Tyler Williams hurled 11 Ks.

In the 10th inning, Chamberlin led-off with a triple to the wall in left center. His teammate Jordon Horner followed with a grounder. It got past Friday Harbor's infield and Chamberlin scored, lifting Okanagon to the 4-3 victory in ten innings.

Several fans and even a few coaches were heard saying game was the most exciting high school contest they'd ever seen.

Each time the Wolverines appeared to take control, the Bulldogs would counter with a big play. Friday Harbor outhit Okanogan 7-4, but committed six errors to Okanogan's one.

Chamberlin was 2-for-4 with a walk, drove in the tying run and scored the winning run.

Friday Harbor had several chances to clinch a win, but each time the Bulldogs clenched their jaws. The Wolverines led 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and were one strike away from their second consecutive Class A Championship appearance. Okanogan's Milo Marchille reached base on balls and advanced to third on a high pickoff throw, but Williams recovered, striking out the next batter and getting a pop-out from the following hitter. Williams notched two strikes against Chamberlin before he singled in Marchille to tie the game. A fly-out sent the game into extra innings.

The Wolverines went down 1, 2, 3 in the eighth, but stalled the Dogs' howling. Okanogan's first batter, Will Derting, was hit by a pitch and stole second and third, but Williams fanned the next three Dogs. He even worked against a full count for the third out.

The momentum seemed to switch to the Wolverines in the the top of the ninth when they loaded the bases with no outs. Dave Woldvedt led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. Russ Reyes slapped a single off the right field wall, and pinch runner Ashley Gosselin went to third. Pinch hitter Fletcher Vynne reached base on balls. Chamberlin recovered, getting Adam Posenjak to ground-out and striking out Jake and Jordan Ross.

Okanogan went down in three in the bottom of the ninth. Horner, the Dogs' third baseman, prevented a lead-off single by barehanding Williams' dribbler and rocketing the ball to first. The next two Wolverines popped out.

Chamberlin's victory-setting triple was the only extra-base rap in the game.

The Bulldogs scored first -- two unearned runs in the third -- as Friday Harbor's usually steadfast defense made four errors.

The Wolverines knotted the game in their next at-bat. Williams singled, and one out later Brett Bartmasser cracked a base hit. Charlie Herbert loaded the bases after Chamberlin threw four consecutive balls. With two outs, Russ Reyes connected for single, scoring pinch runner Noah Waldron and Bartmasser.

Friday Harbor went up 3-2 inthe fifth. Jacob Ross walked and Jordan Ross reached base on an error. Tyler Williams hit into a double play but, Jacob Ross scored. Game Recap

updated at 9:18 p.m. 5/26/00

Friday Harbor had the bases loaded and only one out in the ninth inning, but could not score. Okanagon did not score and they are now in the tenth inning. More than 25 strikes have been thrown in the game. The two evenly matched pitchers are still in the game. Score 3-3 at the end of nine innings.

updated at 9 p.m. 5/26/00

In the eighth inning, Tyler Williams hit the first batter who then stole second and third. Williams then struck out the side. After eight innings it is tied 3-3. What a game!

updated at 8:45 p.m., 5/26/00

Friday Harbor was one strike from winning when, Okanagon Bryce Chamberlin hit an RBI to tie up the game. At the end of seven it's tied 3-3. Now we're in extra innings.

updated at 8:27 p.m., 5/26/00

No one scored in the sixth inning. Score at end of six innings Friday Harbor 3, Okanagon 2. Only one inning to go.

updated at 8:17 p.m., 5/26/00

Tyler Williams drove in a run to put Friday Harbor up 3-2 at the top of the 5th inning. Okanagon went down 1,2, 3 in the bottom of the 5th. Score after five innings, Friday Harbor 3, Okanagon 2

updated at 8:04 p.m., 5/26/00

The score is tied 2-2 at the end of four innings. Okanagon got two unearned runs in the third inning. Wolverine Russ Reyes singled in two runs in the top of the fourth.

updated at 7:28 p.m., 5/26/00

At the end of two innings, Wolverine pitcher Tyler Williams and Okanagon pitcher Bryce Chamberlin both have five strikeouts. The game is scoreless at the end of two innings. More updates as Matt calls them in from the game in Yakima.

Holey Toledo!
Friday Harbor sluggers return to final four

Matt Pranger photo
Friday Harbor Wolverines celebrate their victory Saturday in Winlock.

Wolverines out-hit Indians 13-7

By Matt Pranger

Tyler Williams went 5-for-5 with three RBIs and a double as Friday Harbor pounded holes in Toledo's pitching. The Wolverines whipped the Indians 9-2 in Winlock to advance to the semi-finals of the Class A Baseball Tournament for the second straight year.

"We're going to Disneyland again," said Coach Rich Warin after the win on Saturday, May 20.

"I think it’s amazing that we’re going back to state again, but that was our goal all year," said senior shortstop Jordan Ross.

"We have two more games," said senior Forrest Hartford. "It’s been our goal to get back all year."

"It’s great to be going back," said senior outfielder Collin Brennan. "It was a lot of fun last year. I expect it to be a lot of fun this year."

Senior Noah Waldron, who didn’t play last year, said he’s is excited about playing with the state’s three best Class A teams.

Friday Harbor plays Okanogan next at 7 p.m. Friday, May 26 at Yakima Community College (YCC). If they win that contest, they will make their second consecutive appearance in the state championship game. This year’s title contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 27, in Yakima County Stadium.

Okanogan trimmed Royal 6-2 to make the semi-finals. In the other quarter-finals, Seattle Christian clipped Kalama 7-6 and Brewster beat River View 15-9. Seattle Christian and Brewster meet at 4 p.m. Friday on YCC's Parker Field.

Friday Harbor entered the quarter-finals contest as the plate underdogs -- Toledo relied on power-hitting for their 16 wins, most in the double digits -- but the Wolverines left game 15-2 as the dogs with the big sticks. Friday Harbor pummeled Toledo’s pitchers for 13 hits, including a two-run homer by senior Forrest Hartford and a double by Williams.

"It was great to pound the ball," said Friday Harbor coach Rich Warin.

"It’s nice to have a blowout game instead of the close games we’ve had the past two years," Hartford said.

"They got the big two-out hits and we didn't and that's the key to the game," said Toledo coach Thad Nelson.

The Wolverines went up 3-0 in the first inning and scored one run in the second, two in the fourth and three in the fifth to lead 9-0.

"We jumped on top of them," Waldron said. "We didn’t do that a whole lot this year. That made it a lot easier."

"I didn’t expect us to dominate them," said Williams. "Everybody came up big today."

"We hit the ball really well, but we missed a lot of signs," Hartford said. However, he was glad he didn’t catch one of those signs: He missed a bunt signal when he blasted his homer.

Seven Wolverines hit safely in the game and they even pulled off a classic maneuver. "The two Ross brothers pulled off a great hit-and-run," Warin said.

If not for Toledo’s standout centerfielder, the Wolverines might have 10-runned the Indians. With two outs and bases loaded, sophomore Charlie Herbert lofted a ball to deep, straight-away center. Toledo senior Casey Taylor spun around, ran, leaped into the air, stretched, caught the ball and held on to it. "That was the hardest hit I’ve ever had," lamented Herbert. "He took three RBIs and a triple from me." Taylor also robbed Hartford of a second extra-base hit and two RBIs when clutched a ball while crashing into the fence.

Williams scattered seven hits while striking out seven Toledo batters. His 13th win in as many starts didn’t come easy, though. "Those we’re the best hitters I’ve seen in awhile," Williams said.

"They’re probably the best hitting team we’ll face all year," Hartford added.

Against the Indians, the Wolverines made a few more defensive miscues than they usually commit. "We have to work on our defense a little bit. We were still shaky at times," Jordan Ross said.

Friday Harbor’s batters also have to get ready for some tougher pitchers, Jordan Ross explained.

Warin believes his team is up to the challenge. "The kids are playing the best they have all year," Warin said.

"We’ve got the best outfield I’ve seen anywhere," he added.

Friday Harbor’s coach was also proud of the Wolverines’ backers, who filled the third baseline stands. "It was great having our fans there," Warin noted. "We had as many fans there as Toledo and they only had to go five miles."

baseball stories, scores and schedules...

Matt Pranger photo
Friday Harbor's third-base gang cheers after the final out of the Wolverines' state quarter-finals victory.

Friday Harbor 9, Toledo 2

HOW THEY SCORED

1st Inning
Friday Harbor: Jordan Ross reached base on an error. Tyler Williams singles, Jordan Ross scores. Hartford hits into a fielder’s choice. Bret Bartmasser reaches base on balls. Herbert singles, Hartford and Bartmasser score. 3-0.

2nd Inning
Friday Harbor: With two outs, Jordan Ross reaches base on balls, steals second, and goes to third on a wild pitch. Williams singles, Jordan Ross scores. 4-0.

4th Inning
Friday Harbor: Jordan Ross reaches base on an error. Williams doubles, Jordan Ross scores. Hartford homers, Williams and Hartford scores. 7-0.

5th Inning
Friday Harbor: Jacob Ross singles, goes to second on throwing error. Jordan Ross singles, Jacob Ross scores. Williams singles. Hartford hits sacrifice fly. 9-0. Toledo: Casey Taylor singles, steals second and third. Ken Murphy singles, Taylor scores. 9-1.

7th Inning
Toledo: Kevin Shipman singles. Taylor hits into fielder’s choice. Murphy flies out. Taylor advances to second. Jordan Winters singles, Taylor scores. 9-2.

Matt Pranger photo
Friday Harbor catcher Charlie Herbert, left, and pitcher Tyler Williams study Toledo's hitting trends.

Matt Pranger photo
Above: Forrest Hartford rapped a two-run homer for the Wolverines against the Indians. Below: His mother Theresa Gemmer cuts the victory cake.

Teresa Gemmer cuts cake

Letter from Teresa Gemmer thanking Wolverine supporters...

San Juan Islander staff

Sharon Kivisto and Matt Pranger

can be reached:
phone: 360.378.3748      fax: 360.378.9748
by e-mail: news@sanjuanislander.com

by mail: San Juan Islander
PO Box 1118
Friday Harbor, WA 98250 USA

about us

© 2000 San Juan Islander