The young La Conner High School baseball team, with two eighth graders and a pair of freshmen in its starting lineup, battled hard last week but lost both ends of a two-game league series with the Orcas Vikings, whose star player is clearly no ordinary Joe.

Joe Stephens, the Vikings’ 6-3, 215-pound senior standout, blasted two home runs, made several nice defensive plays at shortstop, and tossed a couple clean innings on the mound in leading Orcas to an 8-1 victory here on April 23.

La Conner, 3-9 overall and 2-5 in NW2B/1B action, had fallen 12-2 at Orcas on April 21.

The April 23 rematch on the Braves’ diamond was actually closer than the final score indicates. The Braves, behind a solid pitching performance from junior hurler Kaleb Otis, trailed just 2-0 through four innings.

Otis scattered seven hits and fanned eight batters in six innings of work, often using a hard-breaking curve as his strikeout pitch. Otis notched two of his strikeouts in the fourth inning when he retired the side in order.

Orcas had gotten on the board in the opening frame on the first of Stephens’ two dingers. The Vikings picked up another tally in the third on a pair of infield singles and two La Conner fielding miscues.

Orcas extended its lead with three runs in the fifth, a rally keyed by a Stephens RBI single. La Conner catcher Angus Poprycz limited the damage, recording the final out of the inning when he threw out an Orcas base runner trying to steal second.

Otis plated La Conner’s lone run in the sixth inning. With one out, he laid down a bunt single between the mound and third base. Otis promptly stole second and third and then came home on the front end of a double steal with Poprycz, who had drawn a walk, taking second.

The La Conner threat ended there, however.

Stephens led off the seventh with his second homer of the afternoon, a towering drive that hit a soccer equipment shed beyond the center field fence. The blow came on Otis’ 105th and last pitch of the game. Orcas tacked on a couple more insurance runs after his exit.

Vikings reliever Knox Key set down the Braves in order in the seventh to close out the contest.

There was plenty of post-game buzz about Stephens’ power surge.

“The guy’s a great hitter,” Orcas coach Joe Duenn said of Stephens, who drove in three of the Vikings’ eight runs.

La Conner coach Preston Stewart recalled less than a handful of homers hit at the spacious La Conner ballpark in the past decade. Stephens went deep twice in just four at-bats on a single afternoon.

Duenn also lavished praise on Key, who took the hill midway through the game after having started as a middle infielder.

“Knox is a really good athlete who’s learning to pitch for us and he’s doing a good job at it,” Duenn said.

Stewart, meanwhile, took solace in Otis’ gutsy mound effort and several web gems turned in by his young charges.

“We just have to put the ball in play more often,” Stewart said, noting that La Conner hitters struck out six times over the first three innings.

Still, the Braves worked Orcas’ pitchers for five walks, a testament to their patience at the plate.

With the win, Orcas improved to 6-7 overall and 5-4 in NW2B/1B standings.

Softball

Orcas also secured a sweep of La Conner in softball matchups last week. The Vikings defeated La Conner 13-3 April 21 on the island and 13-1 on the Braves’ diamond two days later.

Braves pitcher Della Damien led La Conner in its road game at Orcas with a single and RBI.

Yami Ocampo Contreras added a single and a run scored. Kat Edwards delivered La Conner’s only other safety, also a single. Jade Damien and Kellie Cayou-Lockrem each scored a run for the Braves, who briefly led 1-0 before Orcas posted crooked numbers in the second, third and fourth stanzas.

The Vikings took the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the second, then exploded for seven runs in the third. Orcas then clinched matters with four more scores in the fourth.

It was a similar story when the teams met here on April 23. La Conner’s bats were again held in check by Orcas pitching. The Braves, who were held hitless over five innings, averted a shutout when Jade Damien scored in the fourth after one of the Vikings’ two defensive errors.

With its twin wins, Orcas improved to 9-5 overall and 5-2 in NW2B/1B contests.

La Conner is 2-4 in league and 4-7 overall entering this week’s matchups with Darrington.

The Braves, though, are bolstered by a thrilling 15-14 non-conference comeback win at home over Muckleshoot Tribal School on April 17.

La Conner sent that contest into extra innings with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, forging a 10-10 tie. Then, after Muckleshoot put up four runs in their half of the eighth inning, the Braves responded with five of their own to seal the verdict.

Edwards paced La Conner against Muckleshoot with four hits and two RBIs. Ocampo Contreras delivered a single, double and a triple for the victors. Jade Damien ripped a double and a single and drove in four runs. Jozlynn La Pointe also enjoyed a multi-hit day with two singles, an RBI, and a run scored.

Della Damien, Cayou-Lockrem and Angie Pena rounded out La Conner’s 14-hit attack with one base hit apiece. Damien’s base knock was a double and she also collected two RBIs.

The La Conner baseball and softball teams were scheduled to host their Darrington counterparts on Tuesday and travel to Darrington on Thursday. All games start at 4 p.m.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.