Red Devils Stay Alive on 11th Inning Walk-Off Hit By Pitch to Defeat Edmonds 2-1

LONGVIEW, Wash. – The defending champion Lower Columbia Red Devils kept their title defense alive as they defeated Edmonds 2-1 in 11 innings in Game #9 of the 2024 NWAC Baseball Championship on Saturday afternoon at David Story Field.

After surviving the top of the 11th, thanks in part to a pair of excellent defensive plays, the Red Devils got another opportunity in the bottom half to win the game. Royce Vandine drew a one-out walk and got 90 feet away from the plate after an Edmonds error and an infield single by Owen Cummins. This brought up Gunnar Shiotani with the bases loaded, who was plunked by a pitch to bring home the winning run in pinch runner Nate Gray Jr.

Like much of the tournament thus far, pitching dominated the day. Lower Columbia starting pitcher Jack DeDonato took a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning. However, Edmonds catcher Camden Gillespie broke up the no-no and the shutout with one swing of the bat, sending a solo home run over the left field fence to lead off the inning. DeDonato finished his day with 7.1 innings pitched, one hit, one run and two walks allowed with six strikeouts.

Hunter Grasser came into relief for DeDonato and threw 3.2 shutout innings to earn the victory.

Edmonds starting pitcher Sheldon Egger was also excellent with 6.2 innings pitched, one unearned run allowed on seven hits with no walks and four punchouts. Lathan Haywood pitched 3.2 innings in relief, allowing one run on two hits.

LCC finished with nine hits in the game, led by two hits apiece by Cayden Wotipka and Jake Smith. Vandine had the first RBI of the game in the bottom of the sixth on a single.

The Tritons finished with four hits, led by Gillespie who went 2-for-4 with the solo home run. Noah Albanese went 2-for-2 after pinch hitting in the ninth.

Lower Columbia moves on in the tournament and will play on Sunday at either 12:05 p.m. or 4:05 p.m. against a to-be-determined opponent. They will either play Tacoma or Linn-Benton. Edmonds finishes another strong season with a 26-20 record, making their 36th appearance in the NWAC tournament.

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