Tumwater High School senior Ryan Orr struck out 17 batters Tuesday, May 11, 2022 in a first round 4-1 district win for #1 2A EVCO Tumwater over 2A Greater St. Helens League No. 4 Hockinson. Orr ended up pitching 6 2/3 innings as Alex Overbay came in for the final out.
The 17 strike outs, ties a school record held by teammate Jordan Hanson. Orr, who has signed a division one letter of intent to play for Washington State, felt he got stronger as the game moved on. “I just tried to attack the strike zone, and then land my curve ball for strikes and then throw my change up when I had too,” Orr remarked. “As we move forward I’m just trying to go after hitters and throw strikes.”
Senior Blake Smith had a 2-RBI single in the first to get the T-Birds started. Smith nearly missed on a deep shot that went foul on the same at bat. “His curve wasn’t moving a lot so I was sitting on that for the two-strike count,” Smith recalled. “He threw the curve to me and he hung it so I just hit a hard single up the middle to score two.”
Brayden Oram and Derek Thompson help score two more runs in the second and fourth innings.
Coach Lyle Overbay was pleased with his team and is focused now on Shelton. “We pitched well and had timely hitting, which are big things that make you successful,” Overbay noted. “Our biggest thing is keeping our pitches fresh, which is our biggest strength. We are doing what we can to keep them healthy and building here as we move on in the playoffs.”
Jordan Hanson should pitch Wednesday as Tumwater (16-5) takes on Shelton (16-5) at Ridgefield at 4 p.m. in the district semi-final. Tumwater split its series against Shelton with 1-5 loss and 4-0 win March 29 and 30. Shelton has won 11 in a row, and defeated Mark Morris Tuesday.
