CENTRALIA — Senior catcher Xavier Ulrich is in his first year with Columbia River. He came from Heritage, and pressure playoff at-bats weren’t something he’d experienced before. Turns out he’s darn good in those situations.
Ulrich went 3 for 4 with a double, triple and five RBIs in the Chieftains’ 10-4 2A district semifinal win over Tumwater Wednesday. His extra-base hits both touched the center-field fence that sits 370 feet from the home plate at Ed Wheeler Field.
“Those baseballs have families, man,” senior Derek Mettler quipped after the game.
The power-packed day at the plate sent waves through the Chieftains dugout, and the hits kept pouring in. River (18-4) had 11 on the evening to secure a state spot for the seventh time in the past eight years.
“It’s really special to me,” Ulrich said. “It’s pretty new to me but it’s a great feeling because this group of guys is so special to me.”
The Chieftains will meet 2A Greater St. Helens League foe Ridgefield (16-6)in the district championship Friday. Originally slated for 5 p.m. at W.F. West, there’s a possibility it gets moved to somewhere in Clark County, coach Stephen Donohue said.
Columbia River had an answer to all of Tumwater’s scores. They tallied five runs in the second inning to pull to a 7-2 lead. After struggling with his control early, Mettler settled in before tossing a complete game. He allowed just eight hits and struck out five.
“It was all mental, so I had to change from the wind-up to the stretch,” Mettler said. “The scoreboard figured it out.”
When Tumwater (14-8) put two on the board in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-4, the Chieftains responded by loading the bases to set up Ulrich’s three-RBI double. Mettler was 2 for 4 with three runs at the plate and Nick Alder was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI singles. Alder also made several defensive gems at shortstop, including a sixth-inning ender when he came across the infield to snag a soft hopper and throw a runner out.
“Last year, we had a disappointing season,” Donohue said. “But they really committed themselves to get after it. We had a great summer, had a lot of wins and they learned to win together. I really think it’s carried over into this spring. It’s been a great ride so far.”
