5/9/23
Tumwater 4, Hudson’s Bay 0
(Tumwater, WA) The 2A district 4 baseball tournament got underway on Tuesday afternoon and the defending 2A state champions started off their postseason run impressively. The Tumwater Thunderbirds hosted the Hudson’s Bay Eagles and all three pitchers lived in the strike zone and pitched really well. Alex Overbay stole the show however and in just one hour and 17 minutes, the T-Birds punched their ticket to the semifinals with a one-hit shutout of Hudson’s Bay in a 4-0 win.
Tumwater would strike first in the bottom of the 1st. An error allowed Derek Thompson to reach to start the game and Alex Overbay followed with a single to left. With runners on second and third, Brayden Oram hit what looked to be an RBI groundout, but another error allowed both Thompson and courtesy runner Andrew Collins to both score to put Tumwater ahead 2-0.
Hudson’s Bay starter Chanz Flores continued to trust his defense by living in the strike zone and making the T-Birds put the ball in play. He did what any coach wants from a starting pitcher and that is not allowing walks making the opposing lineup earn it. Flores just needed six pitches to complete the 2nd and only allowed three hits in his four innings of work for the Eagles.
Derek Thompson reached base again to begin the bottom of the 3rd with a single. Alex Overbay then drew a walk and Eddie Marson reached with a single to load the bases with nobody out. It looked like it would be a big inning for Tumwater but Hudson’s Bay’s defense came up with a big play. Brayden Oram hit a hard grounder but second baseman Tanner Koford made a nice stop and turned it into a 4-3 double play to trade a run for two outs. Flores then got Grayson Reveal to fly out to Walker Laddusaw in center to minimize the damage and only allow one run to keep the deficit for the Eagles at 3-0.
Alex Overbay was pure dominance on the mound for Tumwater. Overbay made it into the top of the 5th without allowing a single baserunner and fans began to take note of what was happening. Tanner Koford put an end to the perfect game bid with one out in the 5th. Koford hit a hard line drive into right center field for a base hit to give Hudson’s Bay some life. Overbay was able to pitch around it however to keep the shutout intact in the final stretch of the game.
Tumwater managed one more insurance run in the bottom of the 6th. Eddie Marson reached with a leadoff single and new catcher Jimmy Womach reached on a hit by pitch. Kyler Collier would provide that insurance with an RBI single to score Marson and make it 4-0 T-Birds. That would be more than enough for Overbay and company as the Tumwater senior retired the Eagles in order in the 7th to earn Tumwater a trip to the semifinals with a 4-0 victory.
Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game was Alex Overbay for Tumwater. The star pitcher went 1-2 at the plate with a walk but it was what he did on the mound that made this a no-brainer. Overbay pitched a complete game shutout and only allowed one hit and no walks while striking out nine batters. Overbay used his entire arsenal and kept the Hudson’s Bay lineup off balance by mixing in his off-speed pitches and using them at anytime in the at bat. There were numerous times he used a breaking ball for the first pitch of an at-bat to get ahead early before using his overpowering fastball to control the count and keep the bases empty.
With the win, Tumwater will now take on Columbia River in the district semifinals on Wednesday at 4pm in Ridgefield. Hudson’s Bay will also play in Ridgefield on Wednesday at 4pm as they battle with Rochester in a loser-out game in the district tournament. You can catch both semifinals on N2 Media on Wednesday afternoon in Ridgefield.
You can catch the entire replay of the game as well in the link below.
Tumwater vs Hudson’s Bay – Boys Varsity Baseball 05/09/2023 | Live & On Demand (nfhsnetwork.com)
Highlight Playlist
elisportsnetwork.com
