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HE’S OUT! – La Conner second baseman Cameron Hansen went airborne for the catch and landed in time to make the out during the bi-district semi-finals in La Conner last Thursday. The Braves were up 9-0 at the end of inning one and beat the Crusaders 11-2. – Photo by Amylynn Richards
Baptists or Lutherans, it didn’t really matter.
Neither had much of a prayer last week against the La Conner High Braves.
La Conner swept District foes Tacoma Baptist and Seattle Lutheran to earn the program’s sixth consecutive State Baseball Tournament berth Saturday morning in Anacortes.
The District champion Braves, now 12-10 overall, face Adna in a 10:30 start.
Concrete and Morton-White Pass play on the other side of the May 24 bracket.
Winners of the two contests are scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m.
While that drama looms ahead, La Conner left little doubt from the get-go it would advance to the State round.
The Braves, making their final home appearance of the season, erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the first en route to a 12-2 District opener win over Tacoma Baptist on Thursday.
La Conner batted a round against Crusader pitching, with Wil James delivering an RBI double and run-scoring single in the frame.
Taylor Swanson added a ribbie double, while Logan James and Sean Hulbert each chipped in two-run safeties to further ignite the onslaught.
The hosts didn’t stop there.
Wil James plated another tally with a third inning single and capped his four-for-four day at the plate with a run-producing triple in the fifth.
Logan James put the 10-run mercy rule into effect by driving in Wil James with a fifth inning single.
The James brothers combined to go six-for-eight — two of which were extra-base knocks by Wil — with eight RBIs.
Swanson and Hulbert each had one hit in three trips.
Erick Reinstra, continuing his superb pitching of late, went the distance to pick up the mound decision. He scattered six hits and kept Tacoma Baptist hitters off balance all afternoon.
The impressive rout was quite a send-off for Wil James, Hulbert, Ben Harper, and Hudson Zavala, seniors seeing their final action on the home diamond.
It was likewise a perfect springboard into the District title game Saturday in Stanwood.
As Reinstra had done two days earlier, La Conner pitcher Max Miller tossed a gem.
Miller baffled Seattle Lutheran batters, limiting the Saints to two hits while striking out 11.
The lone Seattle Lutheran tally was unearned.
“Max was in control throughout,” La Conner coach Jeremiah LeSourd said afterward. “He helped set the tone for our team.”
The Saints, while struggling at the dish, didn’t help themselves in the field, either.
La Conner took advantage of several key Seattle Lutheran miscues, the first of which led to the game’s first run.
Zavala got the Braves on the board when he reached via a fielder’s choice in the second stanza, then scored on a Saints’ throwing error.
La Conner tacked on two more runs in the fifth, both with two down.
Cameron Hansen lined a two-out single, later coming around on a Wil James base hit. Swanson scored the second run of the inning, courtesy another errant Seattle Lutheran throw.
The Braves put the game away with a three-spot in the sixth.
La Conner again struck with two away, this time triggered by a Matt Semrau double. Following a walk to Reinstra, Hansen blasted a two-run double.
Hansen would round out the Braves’ scoring, capitalizing on yet another Seattle Lutheran throwing error.
La Conner couldn’t have scripted things better beforehand if it had tried.
“It was definitely a great week for us,” LeSourd stressed.
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