Submitted photo – The Ferndale Wildcats won all three of their games at the Maxwell tournament over the weekend.
The Ferndale boys battled back from a late seven-run deficit to knock off the tournament hosts in the championship game of the Maxwell baseball tournament on Saturday.
A clutch performance by the Wildcats secured a 9-8 win and kept their unbeaten start to the season going as they improved to 5-0.
They trailed 0-7 after five innings but would outscore the Panthers 9-1 over the final two innings.
“It wasn’t quite how we drew it up, but it all worked out the same,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said.
Fresh off an all-league season on the basketball courts, senior catcher Tanner Pidgeon has started the new baseball season in style and was named tournament MVP, while teammates Cash Mobley and Cade Renner were both named to the all-tournament team.
After a slow start to the game, the Ferndale bats began to make some noise in the top of the sixth inning, with four of the team’s seven runs for the inning coming with two outs.
After holding the Panthers scoreless in the bottom half of the sixth, the Wildcats continued to roll in the seventh, adding two more runs to take a lead they would not relinquish.
Preston Killingsworth singled to reach base, before being advanced to second on a Justin Noga bunt.
Pidgeon then hit an RBI single to score Killingsworth and advanced to second on the throw home, before scoring what be the winning run moments later on a Mobley base hit.
Renner impressed on the mound, pitching the final four innings for the victory.
The impressive sophomore gave up just one earned run on two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch, while striking out five.
He also got out of a jam to see his team over the finish line, getting the final out on a fly ball to center field with runners at first and second.
“We never felt like we were out of the game,” Andersen said. “The kids’ demeanor never changed.”
Once the Ferndale bats began to find their groove, they quickly began to take control.
“It got contagious and the whole momentum of the game shifted,” Andersen said. “And Cade did a good job finding his rhythm on the mound.
“It was good to see everyone contribute, even the players on the bench.”
Eight different Ferndale plates hit successfully in the win.
Pidgeon finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run, and he also caught all but two innings of the Cats’ three tournament games, while Mobley finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run.
The young Mobley also “played clutch for us in multiple games,” according to the coach, and he has been playing a variety of roles well for the team early in the season, filling in at centerfield, second base, catcher and pitcher as needed.
Prescott Langer (2-for-4, two RBIs and a run) and Tristen Titus (2-for-4, RBI and a run) each also had multiple hits in Saturday’s win, while Luke Dixon (1-for-3 with a run), Westin Ayala (1-for-3), Killingsworth (1-for-2 with a run) and Renner (1-for-3, RBI and a run) rounded out a 12-hit team performance.
The Wildcats will try to keep their fast start to the new season going when they play a doubleheader at Hayfork on Tuesday afternoon.
Maxwell dropped to 5-3 with Saturday’s loss.
