LYNDEN – Lynden Christian’s starting pitcher, Ty VanDyken, got the first Mariner batter of the game to ground out right back at him. The rest of the first two innings turned into a show of Sehome’s plate discipline and power bats.
After the first out, Josh Manson singled, setting up teammate (and four-year starter) Shane Jamison. Jamison, who has signed on the play baseball at Lower Columbia College next season, launched a home run so deep to left field it had a chance to land on LC’s fastpitch field. To make matters worse for the Lyncs, after Jacob Kaepernick and Makana Grondin both reached base (Kaepernick via a single, and Grondin via a walk), VanDyken got Ethen Brown to ground into what appeared to be out number three. A fielding error by the Lyncs; however, allowed both runners to score, making it 4-0.
There was much of the same in the second inning. Trevor Seaholm led off with a single, followed by walks to both Manson and Jamison. Kaepernick then sent a rifle to the gap in right center, clearing the bases with a triple. That would be the end of the day for VanDyken, as Tanner Jansen came in in relief, down 7-0 with only one out in the 2nd inning.
Sehome’s eighth run came from a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Grondin, scoring Jamison after he just missed his second home run of the game, hammering the ball off the base of the wall in deep center field in the 4th inning. The ninth and final run came when Mel Ketteridge led off the 7th inning with a double, and James Meader brought him home with a sacrifice fly to right field.
On the mound, Manson pitched excellent for Sehome, giving up only four hits in 6 2/3 innings. While he did issue five walks and three hit batters, Lynden Christian had a difficult time stringing together any offense. Outside of Shane Whittern’s sacrifice fly, which scored Jared Smit in the 4th inning, the Lyncs left a total of twelve runners on base. Payton Robertson was the lone Lync to have multiple hits, going 2-for-4 on the day.
LC’s Jansen pitched well in relief, going six innings, giving up two runs on four hits, and striking out one. Sehome’s Jamison added to his day, by taking over for Manson with two outs in the 6th inning, and finished out the game without giving up a single hit.
The Lyncs (11-6) will look to bounce back tomorrow as they host Burlington-Edison (12-3), while Sehome (11-6) will also play tomorrow, when they host Nooksack Valley (7-9) in the night game at Joe Martin Field which will feature a pre-grame reunion of Sehome’s back-to-back state championship teams from 2007 and 2008.
-BLAKE WITMAN
WhatcomPreps.com
