Baseball: Chehalis cuts down R.A. Long
May 30, 2010 by Roger Underwood
YAKIMA, Wash. — Having been king of the hill one night and king of the state the next, Chehalis’ Robert Pehl had no trouble picking which experience he’d enjoyed most.
“Oh, this — tonight, winning the state championship, no doubt,” he said after leading the Bearcats past R.A. Long 8-1 for the Class 2A state championship Saturday night at Yakima County Stadium. “It’s an awesome feeling — amazing. I can’t even describe it.”
The junior had pitched Chehalis’ 7-6 defeat of Archbishop Murphy in Friday’s semifinal, then went 3-for-3 with a homer and double while scoring three runs in the title game.
Pehl’s two-out, opposite-field solo blast put the Bearcats (21-3) ahead in the bottom of the first inning and they never looked back en route to the school’s first state baseball crown.
He then started a five-run rally in the third by doubling off the left-field wall with two out.
Sophomore Mitch Gueller scattered eight hits and benefited from some sparkling defensive play by junior shortstop Erik Forgione.
“This is what we’ve been pointing toward from day one,” Pehl said. “We hit a few rocks in the road, but now we’re here and it’s a great feeling.”
The Lumberjacks of Longview, appearing in their first baseball state title game, finished 20-4.
R.A. Long 000 001 0 — 1 4 2
Chehalis 105 101 x — 8 10 3
Look, Weaver (3), Welch (3) and Williams; Gueller and Schoelkopf.
Highlights: Boston Peterson (RAL) 1-3, 2b; Jesse Gomez (RAL) 1-3, 2b; Robert Pehl (C) 3-3, 2b, HR, 2 RBI, 3 runs; Tyler McCarty (C) 2-4, 2b; Brennan Casteel (C) 2-3, 2b, 2 RBI.
Filed under *State Tournaments*, All, Baseball
