Naches Valley's Brandon Gillespie, center, celebrates with teammates after J.R. Weigel, right, scored in the second inning against Chimacum on Friday at Yakima County Stadium.   KRIS HOLLAND/ Yakima Herald-Republic

RANGERS' REVENGE
 
Nine-run second inning paces NV's 13-5 win over Chimacum

By ROGER UNDERWOOD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

As critical as the scouting report on a postseason opponent can be, it's also vital to know the flip side.

Naches Valley's Rangers were well-versed in that regard Friday, enough so that their opponent in the Class 1A state semifinal might well have trashed said report after the first three innings at sunbaked Yakima County Stadium.

"The scouting report on us," coach Bill Walker said after NV's 13-5 defeat of Chimacum, "has been that we're too patient. Last year we let the LaRoy kid (Kalama's Nick) dictate the game to us. This time we changed our
approach a little bit."

Enough so to send 13 hitters to the plate in a nine-run second inning and nine more to the dish during a four-run third.

And that was more than enough to send the top-ranked Rangers (23-2-1) into Saturday's 4 p.m. championship game against No. 4 Kalama (24-2).

Naches Valley, having exorcised one competitive demon from its postseason past -- the Rangers lost to Chimacum 4-2 in the 2007 title game -- will encounter another Saturday. But whether they'll face LaRoy, who no-hit them in a 1-0 semifinal loss last year, remained somewhat uncertain.

Though the junior left-hander was the designated hitter in the Chinooks' 3-0 win over Cashmere, word around the ballpark was that an arm problem might prevent him from pitching Saturday.

Or it might not.

"It doesn't matter," said Naches Valley's Joe Mills, who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and another driven in. "Whoever pitches, we're ready to take it to Kalama."

Said fellow senior Thomas Wilcox, who'd gone 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, "We were motivated today because Chimacum beat us two years ago. We'll be motivated again tomorrow, but we still have to take care of business."

The Rangers did so emphatically against Chimacum.

Their first three hitters in the second inning singled with the third, an opposite-field blow by sophomore Chris Walker, scoring two runs. Wilcox's double to right-center plated two more.

In the third, Mills singled home one run and Brandon Gillespie doubled home two more.

Acknowledging the Rangers' offensive aggression, Mills smiled and said, "We were like animals out there."

J.R. Weigel matched Mills with three hits while Walker, Gillespie and Adam Ranger joined Wilcox with two.

Ranger, meanwhile, doggedly adhered to Walker's instruction to throw strikes after NV's two-inning outburst. Though the Cowboys totaled 13 hits, the senior right-hander issued only one walk through six innings in the
unseasonable heat before Ethan Flory worked a perfect ninth.

"Adam really battled," Walker said, "and that's exactly what we had to have."

Chimacum 7th: Modispacher strikes out looking; Evasick grounds out to short; T. Eldridge grounds out to pitcher. No runs, no hits, no errors, no runners left on base.    

Naches Valley 7th: Weigel strikes out looking; Walker grounds out to second; Putas walks; Ring grounds out to short. No runs, no hits, no errors, one runner left on base.

Chimacum 6th: Manix infield single to third; Manix steals second; Manix takes third on wild pitch; Roulst grounds out to short, Manix thrown out at plate 6-3-2; C. Eldridge singles to center; Dukek singles to right; McConnell grounds into 5-4 fielder's choice. No runs, three hits, no errors, two runners left on base.

Naches Valley 6th: Flory flies out to center; Mills infield single to short; Wilcox flies out to right; Gillespie doubles inside third-base line; Frazier pinch-hits for Ranger, strikes out. No runs, two hits, no errors, two runners left on base.

Chimacum 5th: Modispacher singles to left; Evasick grounds into fielder's choice, Modispacher forced at second; T. Eldridge strikes out looking; Cray flies out to center. No runs, one hit, no errors, one runner left on base.

Naches Valley 5th: Ranger singles over second base; Molnar runs for Ranger; Weigel bunt single; Walker reaches on fielder's choice, Molnar forced at third; Moser pinch-hits for Putas, strikes out looking; Johns strikes out. No runs, two hits, no errors, two runners left on base.  

Chimacum 4th: Cray reaches on fielding error; Cray steals second; Manix grounds out to short, Cray advances to third; Roulst RBI single to center; Roulst steals second; C. Eldridge pops out to first; Dukuk RBI single to left; McConnell strikes out. Two runs, two hits, one error, one runner left on base. 

Naches Valley 4th: Johns pops out to second; Flory grounds out to pitcher; Mills walks; Mills steals second; Wilcox walks; Gillespie grounds out to short. No runs, no hits, no errors, two runners left on base.

Chimacum 3rd: C. Eldridge singles to center; Dukek walks; McConnell grounds into fielder's choice, C. Eldridge forced at third; Modispacher doubles to left-center, scoring Dukuk; Evasick pops out to third; T. Eldridge grounds out to second. One run, two hits, no errors, two runners left on base.

Naches Valley 3rd: Johns hit by pitch; Flory grounds into fielder's choice, Johns forced at second; Flory steals second, takes third on catcher's throwing error; Mills RBI bunt single, scores Flory; Wilcox singles to left; Gillespie two-run double to right-center; Ranger strikes out; Gillespie takes third on wild pitch; Weigel walks as Gillespie scores on wild pitch; Walker singles to center; Putas pops out to short. Four runs, four hits, one error, two runners left on base.      

Chimacum 2nd: McConnell infield single to short; Modispacher single to right-center, McConnell takes third; Evasick flies out to center; T. Eldridge RBI single to left, scoring McConnell; Cray singles to right; Manix grounds out to pitcher, scoring Modispacher; Roulst flies out to center. Two runs, four hits, no errors, two runners left on base.

Naches Valley 2nd: Ranger singles to center; Molnar runs for Ranger; Weigel singles to right, Molnar takes third; Weigel steals second; Walker singles inside first-base line, 2 RBI; Putas walks; Johns strikes out attempting to bunt; Flory RBI single to left; Mills safe at first on shortstop throwing error, Putas scores; Mills steals second; Wilcox two-run double to center; McConnell relieves Q. Eldridge; Gillespie strikes out; Ranger walks, Molnar runs for Ranger; Weigel RBI single to left; runners move up on wild pitch; Walker reaches on fielding error, two runs score; Putas strikes out. Nine runs, six hits, two errors, one runner left on base. 

Chimacum 1st: Cray singles to deep short; Manix pops out to catcher; Roulst reaches on dropped pop-up to short; C. Eldridge flies out to left; Dukek strikes out. No runs, one hit, one error, two runners left on base.

Naches Valley 1st: Flory lines out to left on first pitch; Mills singles to center; Mills moves to second on wild pitch; Wilcox flies out to center; Gillespie strikes out. No runs, one hit, no errors, one runner left on base.

Starting lineups
   Naches Valley -- Flory, cf; Mills, rf; Wilcox, 1b; Gillespie, c; Ranger, p; Weigel, ss; Walker, 3b; Putas, lf; Johns, 2b.
   Chimacum -- Cray, cf; Manix, dh (for Q. Eldridge, p); Roulst, ss; C. Eldridge, lf; Dukek, rf; McConnell, c; Modispacher, 3b; Evasick, 1b; T. Eldridge, 2b.