ARLINGTON — The Stilly Valley All-Stars zapped out any inkling of drama in its game against South Everett in the first round of the Majors District 1 Little League All-Stars tournament.
Stilly Valley took a leap toward the tournament championship game after knocking off South Everett, 14-3, Saturday, July 2, at Quake Field.
“I am very proud of how we played,” Stilly Valley coach Wes Sheward said. “But we aren’t done. We are a far way from where we want to get.”
Stilly Valley’s No. 3 batter Tristen Sheward hit a two-run double in the first inning, scoring Tyson Human and Avery Earnheart, both of whom reached base on a walk and a single, respectively. After stealing third, Tristen Sheward scored following South Everett’s Andrew Bakko second wild pitch to give Stilly Valley a 3-0 lead.
“We got opportunities,” Wes Sheward said. “And we took advantage of them.”
A Stilly Valley error in the third inning set up South Everett’s scoring. After reaching first base on the error, Bakko advanced to second following Colton Crisler’s sacrifice bunt. Dawson Cook drove a Mason Bergley pitch to left field, scoring Bakko. Two batters later Mitchell Haldi knocked in Cook with a single narrowing Stilly Valley’s lead to one.
“We made a few errors and they took advantage of them, but we bounced back very well,” Stilly Valley assistant coach Bob Bergley said. “Everett is a very good hitting team, but our pitching was solid.”
Stilly Valley answered back with six singles that led to eight runs. Dillon Kujath led off the barrage of hits with a single. Skyler Klein followed with a hit to right field scoring Kujath from first base. Midway through the line-up Stilly Valley got four consecutive hits by Earnheart, Sheward, Bergley and Taylor Baker, all scoring runs. Three South Everett errors contributed to two more Stilly Valley runs.
“We hit the ball and swing our bats with great pride,” Wes Sheward said. “We know we have an above average offense from top to bottom of our lineup. And we couldn’t be more pleased with our pitching.”
Bergley earned the victory and struck out eight South Everett batters. Earnheart and Sheward combined for four hits and four RBI’s.
