Fired up Sedro-Woolley shuts down Blaine in baseball playoffs

Blaine’s starting pitcher Colby Knutzen throws a pitch in the first inning against Sedro-Woolley.

By Oliver Lazenby

Despite having a better record and home field advantage, Blaine baseball lost 11–1 against Sedro-Woolley in a first-round playoff game on May 1, ending the season for the Borderites.

Blaine, with an 11–10 regular season record, was favored to win over Sedro-Woolley (9–12), though Sedro-Woolley ended its regular season with a three-game winning streak.

“I think the factor was just Sedro being hot,” Blaine head coach Tanner Olson said after the game. “You got to give them all the credit in the world; that’s a completely different team than we played in game 12.”

Blaine beat Sedro-Woolley 8–1 in game 12 of the season, on April 9.

Sedro-Woolley’s pitcher went seven innings and allowed just four hits.

“We haven’t seen him before and he did a good job keeping us off balance and staying in the zone,” Olson said. “We’ve been swinging it well, and to shut us down like he did with his fastball, I mean, he did a heck of a job.”

Sedro-Woolley got off to an early lead with one run in the first inning and another in the third.

Blaine’s Griffin King hit a single over third base in the third inning and Mikael Elliot brought him home with a double, making the score 2–1. The Borderites left runners on second and third base that inning and didn’t score a run the rest of the game despite hits by Ben Wallen and Chase Abshere.

Still, it seemed like anyone’s game until the sixth inning, when Sedro-Woolley scored two more runs.

“That’s kind of when things went south,” Olson said.

The cubs squashed Blaine’s hopes for a late comeback by scoring seven runs in the final inning.

Despite the playoff loss, Blaine finished its season strong, losing just three games in the second half of the season.

“If you look at it overall, I thought it was a heck of a season. The way we started and the way we bounced back – that’s a pretty good feat to hang your hat on,” Olson said. “I can’t thank those seniors enough for how much hard work they put in.”