On Saturday, while watching the Carter babies, Brielle and I went to visit the Smith's at a nearby goat show. The picture of me holding Claire was taken there by Lydia. Then, back at the house, I was holding bay Autumn. (Photo credit for that one: Her mommy, Victoria! :-)
MOSSYROCK — Football was first. Basketball was second. On a wet and muddy Monday afternoon, the Mossyrock baseball team completed the Viking boys’ primate exhibit against Naselle, displacing a third monkey in a 3-0 win — their first against the Comets since before the pandemic.
“This is the last of the monkeys off our backs,” Mossyrock coach Darren Kolb said. “Baseball was the last one.”
The Vikings have brought up a core group through the past few seasons, maturing into an experienced roster this year. The plus side of that is obvious; the downside is that while the Comets were busy wrecking the 1B Coastal League in previous springs, they were also building scouting reports on everybody Mossyrock could throw at them.
With that in mind, Kolb threw out the one ace he had up his sleeve: Tim Bowes, a senior playing baseball for the first time since his eighth-grade season.
The Comets didn’t have a book on Bowes, and Bowes — just maybe — didn’t have the experience to know that he should be daunted by facing the defending state champs.
“We getting ready to go out on the field, and he says, ‘Hey, leave it all out on the field,’” Kolb said. “That’s the type of kid he is. He’s just a leader.”
Monday afternoon, Bowes led by example. Naselle got multiple runners into scoring position in both the first and third innings, but Bowes kept them from pushing anything across. He only allowed two hits and four walks, and racked up 10 strikeouts.
As the rains began to fall heavier, Bowes got the Comets to hit back-to-back flyouts to Zack Munoz in center — one a can of corn, the other a diving web gem — before hitting his pitch count to end his outing. From there, the Vikings gave the ball to Cooper Young, who struck out two in a four-out save.
Mossyrock took an early lead when Jacob Comer doubled down the line in the bottom of the first, scoring Keegan Kolb. That would be all until the fourth inning, when Bowes reached on an error, stole second, stole third, and came home on a Wylde Greisen sac fly. The Vikings added one more for good measure in the fifth, with Cooper Young delivering an RBI single.
Easton Kolb went 2 for 3 in the second spot of the Mossyrock order, with Young behind him reaching in all three of his plate appearances on the single and two walks.
The win ties Mossyrock with Naselle for first place in the four-team 1B Coastal League. Despite having six games left in the regular season, just one is a league game — at Oakville next Tuesday. This week, the Vikings will host Adna in a non-league game Wednesday, before facing Forks in a doubleheader Saturday.
“I’m proud of these kids,” Darren Kolb said. “I told them to give me one more month of no BS, and we’ll get after it.”
