MOSES LAKE — The Central Washington Sixers 18U (5-2) are off to a three-win start in the Moses Lake showdown tournament. After earning a 8-3 win Friday over the Spokane Crew 16U, they strung together two more wins over the Orting Baseball Club 18U and RCA Green, which they finished in three innings.  

“You could ask for a little bit better of a start, a little bit more efficient first inning, just command in the zone, but it was good to see the approach stay with a lot of our guys and get the job done with the bats,” Head Coach Trey Evans said.  

Game one saw the Sixers seal the win after strong offensive production with seven runs from the fourth to sixth innings.  After falling behind 2-1 Saturday against Orting, the Sixers reclaimed the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth. They added seven more runs to increase their lead and prevented a comeback attempt for a 10-5 win. Later that afternoon, the Sixers got off to a rocky start falling behind 4-0 in the first inning. However, they responded with 10 runs and controlled the momentum for the rest of the game to seal it in three innings 16-4.  

“It's just each guy trusting each other, getting their job done and understanding it's the next guy up every time,” Evans said.  

Spokane Crew 16U 

The Sixers got things rolling in the latter half of the game, with Manny Barrios, Terrance Huber, Jack Swedburg, Nolan Decubber, Dagen Enquist and Caden Barney all getting home.  

Swedburg and Kolby Lyons split the pitching duties, Friday. Swedburg pitched four innings, allowing two hits, two runs, zero errors and struck out nine batters. Lyons closed out the game allowing one hit, one run, zero errors and struck out two batters. A team effort led them to an 8-3 win as they advanced further in the tournament.  

Orting Baseball Club 18U 

In a slower paced game, the Sixers held a 3-2 lead over Orting at the top of the fifth inning. They managed to break the game open with seven runs by Noah Echavarria, Cooper Vasquez, Jacoby Tait, Ty Breinholt, Barney, Enquist and Swedburg to give them a sudden 10-2 lead. Doubles by Swedburg and Huber provided a spark for the Sixers offense in the fifth.  

Orting responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 10-5. However, both teams would go scoreless in the sixth inning, which sealed the win for the Sixers.  

On the mound were Carter Peone and Echavarria for the Sixers. Peone pitched four innings, allowing one hit, five runs, five walks and struck out four batters. Echavarria finished the game on the mound with zero hits, runs or walks while striking out two batters. 

RCA Green 

From the beginning of the game, the Sixers had their backs against the wall after RCA Green jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. However, the Six showed they weren’t going to flinch and rounded off 10 runs in the bottom of the first to take a 10-4 lead. 

“Always good when the bats get going, makes the job a little bit easier for everyone else. It was consistent, just like to see a little bit cleaner baseball,” Evans said.  

After holding RCA scoreless in the top of the second, they added four more runs by Breinholt, Barrios, Peone and Enquist to make it 14-4. Only needing two more runs to earn a 12-run lead and seal the game, Aaden Montes and Dairan Barr got home to solidify their spot in the semifinals with a final score of 16-4.  

Vasquez pitched all three innings, allowing three hits, four runs, three errors, two walks and struck out six batters. Despite the rocky start, Evans felt good about how Vasquez responded on the mound for the rest of the game.  

“It would have been really easy to come out and get a little bit wild after a long break like that, but he came back commanded the zone and just trusted his stuff. It's good to see from him,” Evans said.  

At the time of press, additional results of Saturday and Sunday’s games were not available. A full recap of the weekend will be in a later edition of the Columbia Basin Herald. 

BOX SCORES: 

Game one 

SXRS: 0-0-1-2-1-4: 8 

SPKN: 1-0-0-1-0-1: 3 

Game two 

SXRS: 0-1-0-2-7-0: 10 

ORTG: 0-2-0-0-3-0: 5 

Game three 

RCGR: 4-0-0: 4 

SXRS: 10-4-2: 16 

    Cooper Vasquez (0) rips off his next pitch during the Central Washington Sixers 18Us game against RCA Green Saturday.
  

    Jacoby Tait (4) slides into second to record a stolen base against RCA Green Saturday.
  

    Aaden Montes (22) of the Sixers 18U squad fields the ball before turning to throw it to first base against RCA Green Saturday.
  

    The Central Washington Sixers’ Nolan Decubber (12) cracks a smile as he steps up to bat Saturday.
  

    Ty Breinholt (5) trots home during the Sixers 18Us game against RCA Green Saturday.