The defending Class 4A state baseball champions will get to continue defending that title.
Skyview survived an elimination game in the 4A district baseball tournament Tuesday night at Propstra Stadium, defeating Camas 5-3.
Austin Greene threw six innings for the win, Alec Chaney struck out two to get the save, and one of the heroes from last year’s state title run got the go-ahead RBI for the Storm.
“We saddled up, that’s for sure,” said Brian Valentine, who made it 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning with a run-scoring single. “It says a lot about our character. We struggled a little bit this year and didn’t meet some expectations. But we love playing together. We wanted to keep playing in a Skyview uniform.”
Skyview advances to the district tournament semifinals against Battle Ground at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Regardless of that outcome, the Storm have qualified for the bi-district tournament, with a shot at returning to the state tournament.
Camas’ season came to an end with Tuesday’s loss.
Greene struck out five and allowed two earned runs.
“I was just going out there competing, trying to make sure this wasn’t our last game as seniors,” he said.
Camas scored three in the third, but that did not rattle Greene.
“I was definitely upset for letting them hit the ball around a bit, but I knew we would come back for the win. I had confidence in my teammates.
“It definitely felt good to bounce back from the rocky start and finish strong.”
The Papermakers took a 3-2 lead on run-scoring doubles from Sam Jones and Liam Fitzpatrick. They added a run on a Skyview error.
The Storm rallied right away to tie in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly from Jacob Olivarez.
A couple of walks in the bottom of the fourth led to Valentine’s hit. Jordy Freese would add some insurance with another run-scoring single in the frame.
The rest was Green and Chaney pitching, with Skyview defense, shutting down Camas’ offense.
The Storm got on the board first with two unearned runs in the second inning, scoring on an error that would have been the third out of the frame.
Stars of the day
- Matt Vick and Justin Hughes, Prairie baseball. Vick drove home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly, and Hughes followed with a run-scoring triple for a pivotal insurance run as the Falcons beat Kelso 6-5 in the 3A district loser-out game. It was the Falcons’ fifth consecutive win. They will play Mountain View at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Propstra Stadium.
- Conner Thompson and Mitchell Pinney, Hockinson soccer. Thompson had two goals and assisted on Pinney’s goal, and Pinney had assists on both of Thompson’s goals as the Hawks beat R.A. Long 3-0.
- Alex Firl, La Center soccer, has two goals and an assist in a 6-2 win over Stevenson, clinching the Trico League championship for the Wildcats.
- Aaron Shoup, Woodland baseball, had three doubles and six RBI as the Beavers swept a doubleheader against Kalama. He also earned a pitching win by striking out seven over four innings.
- Eric Ferris, Skyview soccer, scored late in the match with an assist from Gabe Weber as the Storm edged Heritage 2-1.
- Ashton Rimer, Union soccer, scored on a free kick in overtime to lift the Titans to a 1-0 win over Battle Ground.
- Nate Beasley, Camas soccer, scored three first-half goals to lead the Papermakers to a 4-1 win over Evergreen.
