RICHLAND – It was a back and forth game for the first few innings, but the Lyncs showed their muscle and athleticism as they poured in the seven runs in the final two innings to beat Connell 13-4 in the first round of the 1A state playoffs.
“No matter how many times we’ve been here, it can still be nerve racking to begin the game,” LC coach Mitch Moorlag said. “We can really swing it from one-to-nine, up and down our lineup, and they are very confident hitters.”
After being down 2-0 after the top of the first inning, the Lyncs countered with an RBI double by senior pitcher Sam Van Loo, and a two-run single by sophomore third baseman Maggie VanderGriend.
Connell scored a pair of runs in the third inning, but Lynden Christian did it again when sophomore Reese Dykstra hit a ball deep to right field that was originally misread, and it scored two runs. A mishandled throw also allowed Dykstra to score on the play. The Lyncs poured it on after that.
Dykstra hit another triple in the fifth, scoring VanderGriend, and VanderGriend hit a tall homerun to dead center field in the sixth inning.
“It felt really good as soon as I made contact,” VanderGriend said. “I still had to see it go over the wall, though. It was a really good game for everyone on our team, and we’ve worked really hard this year to get here.”
VanderGriend finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI’s. Van Loo also picked up four hits, and got the win in the circle.
The Lyncs will play Castle Rock (20-3) this afternoon at 4:00 in the quarter final round. The Rockets defeated Klahowya in the first round 11-1.
