BLAINE – There were a lot of emotions at Pipeline Fields on Tuesday afternoon. Parents of the Blaine seniors held back tears as they watched their boys play their final home game and Borderite first-year head coach Tanner Olson was ejected in the bottom of the third inning. Yet through all the emotions, senior pitcher Cam Ellis didn’t get too high, or too low, as he stayed focused on his mission, which was to defeat Lynden. Mission accomplished, 5-3 Blaine.
“After our last game Coach Olson texted me, asking if I wanted to pitch against Lynden or Meridian,” Ellis said. “I replied immediately that I wanted Lynden. I felt good all day, and they were a great test for us heading into the postseason.”
The Borderites jumped out to an early lead when the first three batters (Colby Knutzen, Chase Abshere and Cruz Rodriguez) hit singles off of Lynden junior, and former Borderite, Dylan Parcels. Knutzen then scored on a wild pitch, Mikael Elliott’s sacrifice fly scored Abshere and Rodriguez then scored on an error.
The score remained 3-0 until the third inning when Lynden’s top of the order got some momentum. Seniors Marcos Vander Veen and Trevor Abitia both hit singles, and Vander Veen scored on a wild pitch by Ellis. Senior third baseman Jordan Holmstrom reached on an error, and junior James Marsh knocked in Abitia on a fielder’s choice, and that brought the score to 3-2.
The Borderites picked up a pair of insurance runs in the fourth inning when Knutzen’s fielder’s choice scored junior Hayden Dohner and Abshere’s fielder’s choice scored sophomore Griffin King.
Ellis remained in control until there was one out left to get in the game. He handed the ball over to Rodriguez who struck out the final batter to close out the game.
“I was more excited than nervous,” said Chase Olson who took over the coaching duties after his brother was ejected. “I’m just so happy for the players. They played an awesome game, it was just a really big win for us.”
Ellis picked up his fourth win on the season, and kept his ERA at 2.17. Parcels lost his first game of the season (3-1).
Blaine (11-8) will close out its regular season on Thursday at Meridian (12-7), while Lynden (13-5) will do the same at Lakewood (2-17) on Thursday.
