Braves split pair in up-and-down week

Feast or famine.

Such was the case for La Conner High in two key league baseball dates last week.

The Braves served up a smorgasbord of offense in a 9-1 rout of NW2B rival Shoreline Christian, then found slim offerings against Orcas pitching in a tough 2-1 conference loss to the Vikings.

Orcas projects as one of four favorites — along with La Conner, Friday Harbor, and Concrete — vying for the Northwest District’s lone State berth this season.

La Conner and Orcas meet again on April 8.

“It should be interesting,” said La Conner coach Jeremiah LeSourd, whose club was 3-2 overall going into Monday’s late road game at Concrete.

“We’ve been getting solid pitching,” LeSourd noted, “but we’ve needed to get a few clutch hits.”

There were hits galore in support of Max Miller’s two-hit gem against Shoreline. In hindsight, LeSourd likely wishes his team would’ve saved a few of those safeties for Orcas.

Miller, who tossed a two-hitter and fanned 11 in six innings, had all the run support he needed after three frames.

Shoreline reached Miller for just one unearned tally on the day.

“It was another impressive performance for Max,” LeSourd said.

Reliever Cameron Hansen closed out the game by whiffing the side in the seventh.

Taylor Swanson paced the victors with a pair of hits and two runs batted in. He delivered Preston Stewart with La Conner’s first score of the contest via an RBI single in the second inning.

Stewart followed with a two-run single in the third, plating Matt Semrau and Miller.

Hits were harder to come by, however, when La Conner faced Orcas.

Things started well enough as La Conner freshman Terrance Fornsby drove in Miller with a second inning single.

But Orcas answered with two markers in the third. And that’s all the scoring the Vikings needed.

“The game was a well-pitched battle,” LeSourd stressed, offering kudos both to Orcas and his own pitching tandem of Erick Reinstra and Hansen.

“Erick pitched great under pressure,” noted LeSourd, “and really kept us in the game.”

Reinstra scattered seven hits and struck out four while pitching into the sixth. Most important, he threw strikes, walking just one batter.