2008 NWCART: My Site News: The Chronicle - Sam Bakotich 08-18-08

By Sam Bakotich
The Chronicle

ANACORTES -- This one’s for you, B.C.

The Chehalis Sobe-Toyota Junior Legion baseball team had just made history Sunday by coming back from losing their first game of the eight-team Junior Legion Regional Baseball Tournament to win the whole thing ... a first for the Twin Cities.

And the first thing each of the players could say on the field after the tourney ended about 8 p.m. was this huge win, arguably a national championship since the West Regional is the only regional in the country (all others end at the state level) is that this was for Brian Cox.

Cox died three weeks ago as the result of injuries sustained in an auto accident, and he was a friend to most of the players on the team, having played with most of them at one time.

“We said from the start that we were dedicating this tournament to Brian,” said Roby Haycock, who delivered a clutch, three-run double in a four-run seventh inning that broke the game open for Chehalis in its 10-6 win over Vauxhall, Alberta, Canada, in the title game Sunday.

Cox would have been proud of his friends, who lost to Oregon last Wednesday and then stormed back to win five straight, the last three coming against two outstanding teams.

On Saturday, Chehalis met up with Vauxhall, and surprised the heavily-favored Canadians, 15-5. Vauxhall was such a favorite because it boasts six 19-year-olds on its team, while 19-year-olds are illegal in U.S. Junior Legion baseball.

Then on a wild Sunday the Lizards beat the Utah Bees 13-5, which set up the winner-take-all title showdown with Vauxhall late Sunday afternoon.

Both nine-inning games Sunday went even longer than usual thanks to a pair of lightning delays -- one in each game, lasting about 30 minutes each.

Robert Pehl, the tournament’s defensive MVP based on one mound win, two saves, and some outstanding play at third base, gave up two runs in the ninth, with his team holding on to a six-run lead, and then he got the final batter to fly out to center to ignite an emotional on-field celebration by the tired Lizards squad.

“What makes this championship so nice,” said manager Bryan Bullock, who did a masterful job with the crew, along with his assistants Tom Elder and Darin Bullock, “is that we beat two great teams today. It would be one thing to win a title by beating lesser teams, but these two teams today were outstanding.”

Indeed, the Lizards faced two intimidating starting pitchers in each game Sunday, and battered each into submission.

And the Lizards won in the best way possible, with all three phases of the game performing superbly, and all 12 players contributing.

“What I’ll always remember about this,” said Haycock, from Adna, “is that you can’t pick out any phase and say it was the key. Our offense, defense and pitching all came together.”

Bullock said pitching was a big factor.

“During the regular season, we had a lot of trouble throwing strikes on a consistent basis,” he said. “But in the postseason, the mound staff really came together and did a tremendous job. I think they made the difference. Our defense was steady, and we really swung the bats well, and clutch, after the first game here.”

The lone Centralian on the team, Jordan Hull, had a great tourney on the mound. He pitched seven innings in the first game and seven against Utah Sunday. In those 14 innings he gave up earned runs in just two innings.

“This is great,” Hull said with a wide smile. “In 20 years from now, the main thing I’m going to remember is that I was the only Centralia player on a Chehalis team that won a national title.

“These guys were all great, though. We had a great time.”

And they got to know each other well, having played 52 games together (46-6 record).

Hull said this team was a dream to pitch for.

“It really is nice for a pitcher to go out there and just be able to focus on pitching,” he said. “I go out there and know the defense will be great and that our offense will put a lot of runs up. I just have to worry about throwing strikes.”

Catcher Colton Schoelkopf handled nearly all the catching and he was impressed with his pitchers.

“They were great,” he said. “They all threw strikes. We really didn’t give up many walks at all. That was huge. It was really nice to see all the work we did this summer pay off like this.”

Chehalis got the two big awards for the tourney. Pehl got the defensive MVP, and Edgar Burgos was awarded the Offensive MVP after hitting .521 (12 for 23).

Championship Game

Vauxhall reportedly didn’t use a strong pitcher Saturday when the Lizards 10-runned them, but they had their ace, Cole Stober, on the hill Sunday in the 10-6 loss.

Stober is a tough little right-hander with good speed and a nice curveball.

He did his job well and after six frames, Vauxhall had a 3-1 lead and was looking strong.

The lone Chehalis run came when Burgos doubled and scored on a single by Mason Witters in the second.

Canada got two runs in the second when Mitch Schaafsma belted a two-run homer way over the left field wall off of Lizard starter Cody Ray.

But the potent Chehalis bats got to Stober in the seventh for four runs, highlighted by Haycock’s mammoth double to the fence in dead center, just under the 375-foot sign.

Many Chehalis fans were chuckling, saying that impressive blast was about as far as the diminutive Haycock could hit one.

“I could hit it farther,” he said with a smile. “Seriously, I did hit that one well.”

That blast gave Chehalis a 5-3 lead it wouldn’t lose.

Vauxhall is also a good hitting team as both teams combined for 30 hits (16 for Chehalis) and it wasn’t because of weak pitching, but great hitters.

Chehalis got two more runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Pehl and Tyler McCarty. And they added three more in the ninth, sparked by a two-run double to deep center by Schoelkopf.

Schoelkopf, for also being rather small, had a powerful weekend. He had that blast Sunday night and also hit two off the wall on Saturday.

Of Chehalis’s 16 hits Sunday night, Schoelkopf, Pehl and McCarty had three each.

Chehalis 13, Utah 5

It didn’t look good from the start for Chehalis as they were facing Utah ace Taylor Larsen, a 6-foot-4 lefty with speed and finesse.

“He was an outstanding pitcher,” said Bullock. “That’s what made this win so great.”

Larsen made it through six full innings and left in the seventh, trailing 7-1.

He blanked the Lizards the first three frames and then Chehalis got to him for three big runs in the fourth when he faltered, loading the bases with a single and two walks. Burgos and Erik Forgione hit RBI singles, and another scored on an error.

Chehalis added four more in the sixth behind five hits, including a two-run double by Burgos and RBI singles by Cody Ray and Mason Witters.

Hull gave up four runs in the seventh (two earned) and then Pehl and Schoelkopf closed it out for him.

McCarty put an exclamation point on the game in the ninth with a grand slam home run that was ripped over the right-field wall on a line.

“I was trying to hit it as hard as I could,” McCarty admitted with a smile. “I had a good count, and we had a lead, so why not?”

Chehalis outhit Utah 12-5, led by Pehl with three hits, including a double. Ray and Burgos had two each.

Chehalis 15, Vauxhall 5 (Sat.)

Chehalis had just a 4-2 lead after four innings before breaking it wide open with an eight-run fifth.

In that inning, Chehalis had just four hits as Vauxhall hurt itself with three errors.

Burgos went all seven innings on the hill and gave up five runs (three earned) on seven hits with four walks, two hit batters and eight Ks.

The winners banged out 11 more hits, led by Pehl again with three hits and two RBIs. Schoelkopf had his two doubles off the fence and three RBIs, and Burgos was 2 for 3 with a solo home run to ignite the eighth.

Notes: Bullock gave thanks to the financial aid from I-5 Toyota, the Charneski family and L&E Bottling, and Dan Foster. “We couldn’t have made this trip without them,” he said. ... Tournament officials gave out MVP awards after each game. After the title game, they gave out four, all to Chehalis players, including Haycock, Pehl, McCarty and Schoelkopf.