Scott McGuire always has been able to avoid being doused after big wins.
McGuire, the coach of the Kent Little League Major All-Stars, wasn’t quite as quick Friday night at GSA Park in Auburn after the championship game of the District 10 tournament.
The local stars continued to wield powerful bats, collecting 13 hits en route to a 15-5 throttling of Auburn for the title.
McGuire felt first hand how satisfying the win was to the group of 12 year olds.
“I am usually pretty quick in dumping out my water jug, but I paid absolutely no attention to it,” admitted McGuire.
Grant Stockman and Jacob Anderson were paying plenty of attention, though.
The two stars doused their coach in the postgame celebration, putting an exclamation point one what proved to be a flawless tournament for Kent.
“I’m glad I put on my Kent Little League jacket,” McGuire laughed. “I’ve always avoided that … every year. I will get them back some day.”
For the time being, however, the Kent stars have plenty to celebrate.
Kent ripped through the district tournament, outscoring its opponents 41-11 and bashing 13 home runs, the last of which was a 3-run blast off of the bat of Bennett Harrison that ended the game against Auburn.
The four wins give Kent a berth in the state tournament, which will be played from July 23-31 at the Fort Vancouver Little League Complex in Vancouver, Wa. The winner of the state tournament advances to San Bernardino, Calif., for the Northwest Regionals. The winner of the Northwest Regionals advances to the 65th Little League World Series in Williamasport, Pa.
The Kent stars are taking it one game at a time, but McGuire likes the bunch he’s putting on the field.
“I look at this team and think, yeah, we could make it all the way,” the coach said.
McGuire’s optimism is understandable. During the District 10 tournament, Kent clicked in every facet of the game. That could not have been more clear in the championship game against Auburn.
Auburn took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Kent quickly answered — in typical fashion, too — when Jaylen Eichler knotted the score at 1-1 with a solo home run in the bottom half of the inning. Auburn grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of the second only to watch it quickly disappear in the bottom half of the inning as Kent erupted for eight runs.
Travis Hansen and Jacob Anderson started the rally with back-to-back singles. Nate Arreola then loaded the bases after getting hit by the pitch. Harrison proceeded worked a base on balls, scoring Hansen and tying the game 2-2. Singles by Cody Faulkner and Shane McGuire in addition to a sacrifice fly by Ben Wadowski helped Kent push its lead to 4-2.
In the process, it set the stage for Christian Palaita, who came into the game with a pair of home runs in the tournament.
Palaita made it three with a grand slam that went into the road and nearly hit a car. The big blast helped give Kent an insurmountable 9-1 lead.
McGuire estimated the shot at roughly 300 feet.
“It was mammoth,” McGuire laughed. “It hit two lanes out just in front of a car driving by. It was 90 to 100 feet over the fence.”
Auburn, however, didn’t go down easy, scoring three times in the third and cutting the deficit to 9-5.
Kent continued to apply the pressure, scoring three more runs in the bottom half of the inning, including Wadowski’s fourth home run of the tournament.
Kent wrapped up the game with a 3-run fourth, highlighted by Harrison’s home run that enforced the 10-run rule.
Shane McGuire picked up the win on the mound.
TEAM STATISTICS
OFFENSE
Shane McGuire: .500 average (5-10), 2 home runs, 1 double, 5 runs scored, 5 RBIs
Ben Wadowski: .636 average (7-11), 4 home runs, 8 runs scored, 8 RBIs
Jaylen Eichler: .364 average (4-11), 2 home runs, 4 runs scored, 2 RBIs
Christian Palaita: .400 average (4-10), 3 home runs, 1 double, 5 runs scored, 8 RBIs
Travis Hansen: .600 average (6-10), 3 doubles, 3 runs scored
Jake Anderson: .400 average (2-5), 1 run scored
Nate Arreola: 1 sacrifice, 1 hit-by-pitch, 1 run scored
Bennett Harrison: .444 avg. (4-9), 2 home runs, 3 runs scored, 5 RBIs
Cody Faulkner: .500 average (5-10), 4 runs scored, 3 RBIs
Grant Stockman: .500 average (2-4), 1 RBI
Noah Holmes: .250 average (1-4), 3 runs scored
PITCHING
Jaylen Eichler: 2 games, 37 batters faced, 3 hits, 2 runs allowed, 2 walks, 15 strikeouts, 10 innings pitched.
Shane McGuire: 2 games, 38 batters faced, 9 hits, 9 runs allowed, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts, 7 innings pitched.
Ben Wadowski: 1 game, 2 innings pitched, 8 batters faced, 7 strikeouts.
Jake Anderson: 1 game, 1 inning pitched, 2 batters faced.
MEET THE STARS
Jacob Anderson, Nathan Arreola, Jaylen Eichler, Cody Faulkner, Travis Hansen, Bennett Harrison, Noah Holmes, Shane McGuire, Christian Palaita, Grant Stockman, and Benjamin Wadowski. Manager: Scott McGuire; Coaches: Curt McGuire, Robin McGuire.
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