Kentridge’s Joe Wainhouse delivered the knockout punch in a 9-8 slugfest with South Puget Sound League North 4A rival Auburn Riverside last Saturday, powering the Chargers (14-8) into the first round of the state 4A playoffs.
The sophomore first baseman belted a two-run, walk-off home run in the West Central District III/Southwest District IV playoffs at Puyallup’s Heritage Park.
“(It was a) tough way to lose, but we played well,” said Auburn Riverside coach Jon Aarstad. “Our offense is improving every game. We got a lot of different guys in different situations to get them some experience going forward. Our bench guys got a chance to step into roles and feel the playoff pressure. Hopefully, they can relax a little more and execute from here on out.”
The Ravens grabbed the No. 8 seed and a 10 a.m. contest Saturday against Gonzaga Prep (19-6) at Avista Field in Spokane. A win moves the Ravens to a 4 p.m. game against the winner of the No. 7 Mead (19-5) vs. No. 4 Richland (19-5) matchup.
Auburn Riverside (17-8) jumped out to a 1-0 lead early, adding two more runs in the top of the third to go up 3-0.
Kentridge responded with a four-run explosion in the bottom of the third, with junior Devin Riley delivering a two-run double and Wainhouse smashing his first home run of the game, a two-run tater over the right field fence.
The Ravens regained the lead, 7-4, in the top of the fifth inning, with senior Michael Rucker sparking a two-out rally with a triple, driving in Nick Minteer and Kameron Boardway. Senior Josh Latta added a two-run double to round out scoring in the inning.
The Chargers tied it up at 7-7 in their half of the fifth, with Wainhouse driving in senior Sheldon Stober with a single and sophomore Taylor Poffenroth hitting a two-run single.
In the top of the seventh, junior Austin Marty gave Auburn Riverside the lead, driving in Minteer.
Down 8-7 in the final frame, Kentridge responded with Riley leading off with a double and Wainhouse hitting the game winner off Ravens freshman pitcher Isaiah Hatch.
“Looking back I should have gone to the mound and talked my kid through that situation,” Aarstad said of Hatch. “He’s young, and I should have made sure we were on the same page. I told him right away that was on me, and he needs to shake it off, that was not his fault. I learned from it and hopefully he can take something away from it also.
“We still would have pitched to him, either way in that game,” Aarstad said. “Giving our kids more experience in playoff situations was the No. 1 goal Saturday, and I think we accomplished that. Now it’s time to learn from it and build on it.”
Hatch faced six batters, giving up three hits and two earned runs while striking out one.
Offensively, the Ravens were led by Marty, who had an RBI and a run scored on 2-for-2 hitting. Rucker added two hits, a triple and two RBI. Latta had three RBI and a double, and Boardway chipped in with two runs scored and two RBIs on 2-for-4 hitting.
“Overall we almost accomplished our goal Saturday,” Aarstad said. “The win would have completely accomplished it, but we are still playing and 0-0 like everyone else in the state at this point.”
