黑料福利社

West Valley's second straight dazzling run to the Class 4A state baseball tournament was again halted by first-round disappointment on Saturday at Yakima County Stadium.

The fourth-seeded Rams, who won 20 in a row last spring before a first-round exit as the No. 4 seed, suffered their first and only loss of the season, falling 8-2 to No. 13 Curtis.

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Few eyes were dry as the Rams hugged and lingered on the field after a postgame message from coach Brooks Archer, who's 42-4 in his two seasons leading the program.

"We're proud of them, not just because they went 22-1, but because of how they went about things every single day," Archer said. "Being tough guys, being great people, holding each other accountable, being great competitors. We're proud of them for that."

Two-time CBBN pitcher of the year Rhyse Elder was sharp during his first turn through the Vikings lineup, save two hit batters. But fourth-inning error, another hit batter, a sac bunt and an errant Elder pickoff attempt resulted in a two-run hole.

But the hard-throwing right-hander who's shined in his first season hitting regularly for the Rams evened the score with a two-out, two-run knock the in the bottom half of the inning.聽

Those would be the only runs West Valley could muster, and they only runs they've scored in state play the last two seasons.

"Our approach was good, we just have to find a way to score any way we can," Archer said. "In these kinds of games, you have to play great."

The Vikings would keep coming, opening the sixth with a single and scoring the go-ahead run after a walk, a balk and a sac fly, and they strung together four straight hits in the seventh to create plenty of cushion.聽

Elder struck out four over six innings, allowing seven hits, two walks and seven runs (five of which were earned) while striking out four. Senior Alex Morales, playing in his final West Valley game before starting his college career at Central Washington, got the final three outs.聽

Fellow seniors Colby Graham, Gavin Rose, Ryker Hill and Caleb Lindner will leave high school with back-to-back league and district championships, but its the moments away from the field that Graham will remember.

"Just the team dinners, it was a big thing for us, getting close, getting to know each other," the Whitworth signee who singled and scored West Valley's first run said. "There's just so much to take away from this club."

He's also confident next year's team will continue to build on his last season. Juniors Drayden Birley and Brody Roinestad both singled twice Saturday, and Elder will continue to develop on the mound and at the plate.

Archer's hopeful another stinging loss can have the effect that last May's did in providing fuel for the following season.聽

"You gotta remember this day, as tough as it is; you gotta come back next year with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder, and its gotta bother you," Archer said. "I know it bothers our guys. If you're a great competitor it's going to bother you. You try to learn from it and get better. They've got to come in next year and be the guys and show the younger guys.

"And we can pick up right where we left off."

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Hordyk, George (5) and Giles; Elder, Morales (7) and Birley.

West Valley highlights: Brody Roinestad 2-3; Drayden Birley 2-3.聽