The Whidbey Island Baseball Club Crabs finished sixth in the appropriately named COVIC Classic 14U eight-team tournament Friday through Sunday, July 24-26, at North Whidbey’s Clover Valley Park.
The tournament was played following health department guidelines and tournament officials policed the teams and spectators to help enforce proper social distancing.
Crabs 7, Oak Harbor 3
It was the Josh Sterba – Andrew Hilton show when
South Whidbey opened the tournament by defeating the host team 7-3 Friday.
The pair were in the mix for most of the Crabs’ scoring in the contest.
South Whidbey jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sterba doubled and Hilton singled with two outs.
South Whidbey tacked on two more runs in the fourth when Sterba was hit by a pitch and Hilton blasted a home run.
Oak Harbor got one run back in the fifth.
Sterba and Hilton were again in the thick of the scoring in the sixth. Both were hit by a pitch and moved up on Liam Petty’s ground out and scored on Dylan Paine’s double.
Oak Harbor made it 5-3 with a pair of runs in the sixth.
The Crabs countered by tallying twice in the seventh to finish the scoring.
Grady Davis and Sterba singled and come around to score when Hilton and Petty walked and Paine was hit by a pitch.
Sterba finished with double, single and four runs and was the winning pitcher. Hilton had a home run, single and two runs.
Barnstormers 17, Crabs 0
The Barnstormers, based out of Burlington with players from throughout Northwest Washington, exploded for 15 runs in the third inning to stroll to a 17-0 win Saturday.
Davis led off the bottom of the first with a single, which turned out to be the Crabs’ only base hit of the game. Only two others players reached base: Petty walked and was hit by a pitch and Kasen Parsell walked.
Rival 9, Crabs 8
After South Whidbey rallied for three runs to tie the game in the top of the final inning, Everett’s Rival won it with a run in its final at bat for a 9-8 win Sunday.
The Crabs held the lead until the bottom of the fourth inning.
South Whidbey scored twice in the top of the first on hits from Sterba, Hilton and Connor Bartel.
Rival scored once in the bottom of the first, then the Crabs made it 3-1 in the third behind doubles by Petty and Paine.
The South Whidbey lead grew to 5-1 in the fourth thanks to hits by Sage Northrup, Sterba, Hilton and Petty.
The Rival responded with a five-run fourth to go up 6-5 and then scored twice in the fifth.
Down 8-5, the Crabs rallied three runs in the sixth, and final, inning.
Hilton singled, Davis doubled, Petty walked and Bartel singled to get South Whidbey back into the game.
The Rival won it with a double and single in the sixth.
First baseman Kasen Parcell awaits a throw Saturday. (Photo by Jim Waller/South Whidbey Record)
South Whidbey second baseman Liam Petty settles under a pop-up. (Photo by Jim Waller/South Whidbey Record)
Dylan Paine prepares to bunt for the Crabs in Saturday’s game. (Photo by Jim Waller/South Whidbey Record)
