Win one, lose one.
That was the fate of the La Conner High School Braves baseball team when it met NW2B/1B rival Orcas Island in a two-game home and away series April 24.
The Braves held on for a 13-10 home victory April 22 before falling 5-3 at Orcas last Thursday.
With the two-game split, La Conner took a 5-4 overall mark and 4-3 league record into this week’s NW2B/1B action. The Braves are scheduled to visit the Darrington Loggers April 29 (4 p.m. start time) and host Darrington on May 1 in another 4 p.m. start.
In La Conner’s home triumph over Orcas, the Braves were paced by senior C.J. Edwards who lined a single, walked twice, was hit by a pitch, and scored four runs. Edwards, who started the game at shortstop, also came on in the fifth inning to pitch in relief of starter Angus Poprycz.
Poprycz, a freshman, struck out four Orcas batters through four frames and helped his cause with a third inning single.
La Conner’s Nathan Bailey, a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Athlete of the Week for having tossed a one-hitter and struck out 18 batters at Coupeville on April 17, lined a run-scoring double that gave the Braves a 5-3 edge over Orcas through three innings.
Brent Bobb lined a double and Kamien Lopez and Kaleb Otis each added singles for La Conner, which put the game away with a five-run outburst in the fifth.
At Orcas, La Conner scored twice in the first and once in the second but went scoreless over the final five innings.
Edwards delivered a run-scoring triple that gave the Braves a 3-2 second inning lead.
Orcas, though, salvaged the two-game split when Joe Stephens blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, breaking a 3-3 deadlock.
Lopez singled twice while Otis laced a key single to spur La Conner’s two-run first inning rally.
Bill Reynolds: bill@laconnercommunitynews.org. Bill is a general assignment reporter who covers Town government, schools, and spot news.
