Colton dominates Warriors for first B title since 1980

Colton Wildcats bounced back into the title column in a big way Saturday in the state 1B baseball championship came which was moved to Ellensburg’s Rotary field this year. Senior veteran Josh Straughan ended his long Wildcat carrier by allowing the Almira/Coulee/Hartline Warriors just two hits while Colton hammered 10 hits on the way to an 11-1 championship win.

The win marked the first title for Colton since 1980 when a Wildcat team headed by Jerry Morse took the trophy for the third time.

The win also came after the Wildcats, led by Coach Pat Doumit, went to title rounds in 2009 and 2010 and finished in second place. The second loss was to ACH.

Josh Straughan over the last three years has pitched in nine playoff games where the Wildcat season was on the line. One of those games was the 2010 loss to the Warriors when he started as a sophomore.

He was one of five Wildcats on this year’s team who played in the 2010 game.

“Josh really silenced them all the way,” Coach Doumit said.

The Warriors had an early outbreak with the bases loaded in the first inning but failed to score. The shutout continued until the sixth when they booked their lone run.

Straughan fanned 10 Warriors and walked zero over the seven innings Saturday.

Colton’s offense went right to work with three runs in the first inning and two more in the second.

“They’re just tough outs. We like to embrace the philosophy of getting on base,” Doumit said. He pointed out all the options which open up when a team can consistently put runners on base to start an inning.

The Wildcats scored three in the first inning when Austin Meyer got on base with the first of three ACH errors in the inning. Jake Straughan rapped an RBI single and later scored when Warrior hurler Drew Issak was called for a balk. Justin Meyer singled to score Josh Straughan for the third run in the first.

The Warriors loaded the bases in their half of the inning, but Josh Straughan fanned Jake Johnason on to cut off the threat.

In the second Colton’s Dustin Devorack scored on a pickoff miss by Issak to third base, and Josh Straughan singled in Jake Straughan for a 5-0 lead.

Josh Straughan and Isaak pitched three scoreless innings, but Colton came up with two more runs in the sixth when Jordan Druffel hit a single with the bases loaded.

Jake Riedner singled and Matt Becker doubled in the seventh when the Wildcats capped it with four more runs.

ACH was charted for four errors during the game and Colton committed two.

Six Wildcats who will graduate off the Colton roster this year are Josh Straughan, Bricyn Abdul, Riedner, Matt Becker, Dustin Devorak and Tim Tilton.

Colton’s 2012 title winners join championship teams from 1974, 1976 and 1980. The Wildcats also appeared in the three title games between their championship wins in ‘76 and ‘80 and placed second.

They didn’t get back to the title tilt until 2008 when they lost to Lake Quinault in Doumit’s first year of heading the program. They were back in the final game in 2010 in the first matchup with ACH.