Cruisers stumble against Wolves in non-league showdown

In their sole game of the week, the Eatonville Cruisers baseball team faced a setback on Wednesday. The non-league matchup against the Black Hills Wolves ended with a 9-2 loss for the Cruisers.

The Wolves seized an early lead in the opening inning as Blake Klinger's single brought in Chase Chandler, who had earlier tripled. Eatonville's tied the game in the second inning with Will Sepich capitalizing on an error to allow Santiago Ruvalcaba to score. However, the Wolves quickly regained the lead in the subsequent inning on Klinger's double, bringing Truman Wimsett home.

Eatonville retaliated in the bottom of the inning, with Michael Stogsdill stealing home on a passed ball, knotting the score at 2. However, that marked the extent of the Cruisers' scoring for the game.

The Wolves broke the deadlock with a strong offensive surge, tallying 5 runs in the fifth inning and adding 2 more in the sixth.

Offensively, Eatonville struggled, mustering only two hits throughout the game. Stogsdill went 1-4 with a double and a run, while Payton Hanly also managed a 1-4 performance at the plate.

On the pitching front, Owen Archer started for Eatonville, pitching 4.1 innings and conceding 7 runs on 9 hits, along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. Brody Thirtyacre took over in relief, pitching the final 2.2 innings and giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, while walking one batter and striking out 3.

Looking ahead, the Cruisers are scheduled for two games this week. They hosted the Elma Eagles in a league game on March 26 before hitting the road for a non-league matchup against the Orting Cardinals on March 27 at 4 p.m. at Orting High School.