The East Jefferson Rivals varsity baseball team returned from a four-game away stretch to the Chimacum diamond this week, facing the Bellevue Christian Vikings Wednesday afternoon.
The Vikings …
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The East Jefferson Rivals varsity baseball team returned from a four-game away stretch to the Chimacum diamond this week, facing the Bellevue Christian Vikings Wednesday afternoon.
The Vikings — sitting at the No. 2 seed in the Nisqually League on a 9-2 record — made quick work of the Rivals, winning 11-0 after five innings.
Fielding nine players total with a few key starters out and no aid from the bench, the home team was at a disadvantage while facing the defending 1A state champions.
“We swung the bats, but y’know, they’re a good team. We just couldn’t quite catch up to them,” EJ Head Coach Ben Lozano said.
“That’s a very good team over there, defending state champs, and that’s probably their ace pitcher.”
The Rivals had a solid start defensively, keeping the Vikings from tallying any runs in the opening inning.
But the home squad struggled to get any runners on base, with junior Brody Moore being the only athlete on get on base via a walk in the fourth inning.
Bellevue Christian’s hitters unloaded in the second and third innings, scoring four runs in the second and tallying another six runs in the third.
EJ first baseman Nathaniel Naylor performed a highlight play at the bottom of the third inning — with a leaping catch from a line drive — but it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding as the Vikings ended the matchup early with a run in the fifth inning.
Rivals pitchers Rhian Popp and Benjamin Lance earned one strikeout each, with Lance taking the mound in the fifth inning.
“Defensively, we did OK. We had a few errors,” Lozano said. “I think we could’ve played a little bit better defensively than what we did, but it’s a work in progress and we did make some nice plays out there.”
The home team was missing a few starters in the Wednesday matchup.
“We had a few stars that were out sick today,” Lozano said, adding that Cash Holmes and Pete Giddens were out.
The loss brings the Rivals’ record to 1-9, but the squad is still sitting in the No. 6 playoff seed for the Nisqually League.
Defense, hitting, and general improvements to the team’s overall game are what Lozano and his coaching staff will focus on during practice, the head coach said.
