East Valley players celebrate their 14-10 win over Selah on Saturday that advanced the Red Devils to the Class 2A state semifinals.   ANDY SAWYER/ Yakima Herald-Republic

 
Red Devils move to semis with 14-10 win
 
Seven-run third inning helps push East Valley past Selah

By ROGER UNDERWOOD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

In the top of the fifth inning Saturday, Trent Sikes slumped to the ground and rolled onto his back in pain after fouling a pitch off his foot.

Not to worry, though. The East Valley junior bounded back up, and while collecting himself sported a facial expression that was probably more grin than grimmace.

Life is, after all, more fun when you're winning.

"We came out swinging," he said as the Red Devils celebrated their of a 14-10 defeat of Selah in a Class 2A state quarterfinal at sweltering Davis Field. "We're going to the final four, and we're going with a ton of momentum and a ton of confidence."

And why not?

In earning the program's second final four berth in three years, EV had bludgeoned two highly-respected squads into submission. The Devils clobbered West Valley of Spokane 11-1 in the opener, after which Selah subdued Clarkston 2-1.

So, for the day, eighth-ranked East Valley (19-6) rolled up 25 runs on 23 hits. The Devils homered three times -- one of them a first-game grand slam by Sikes -- and complemented their hitting with exemplary play afield.

There was also Kevin Komstadius' one-hit,
17-strikeout pitching against West Valley. But the Devils earned their collective due at bat.

Next up is Cedarcrest, at 4 p.m. Friday in Yakima County Stadium.

In a rematch of the previous Saturday's 9-8 CWAC district title game won by Selah, the Red Devils used a seven-run third inning and a four-run sixth to keep the Viks at bay.

"I've got to figure out what we did differently in practice last week and bottle it," a broadly smiling EV coach Jesse Benedetti said. "The kids performed today. We swung the bats, obviously, but we also made some excellent plays defensively."

Such as a diving catch of Alex Fickes' sinking liner by senior center-fielder Bobby Pottenger, a play that ended the fifth and left the bases loaded. Or a highlight-film stab of Trevor Dallman's sixth-inning drive by left-fielder Sikes.

"Those are the types of plays it takes to win a game like this," Benedetti said.

An RBI double by Kevin Elkins and a run-scoring single by Kory Sauve highlighted the third inning, and Elkins' two-run double was the big blow in the sixth.

Sikes was 3-for-4 with a run batted in, Elkins finished 3-for-5 with four RBI and Pottenger homered and drove in two.

"Our guys swung the bats," said Selah coach Mike Archer, whose team actually out-hit EV 14-13 but was hampered by eight walks, two hit batsmen and four errors. "But they swung them, too. They earned it."

Cody Collier was 4-for-4 -- he was 6-for-6 on the day -- with a pair of doubles and two RBI to lead the No. 2 Vikings (21-4), who listed only four seniors on their roster.