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closeVikings punch ticket to big dance
Adam Cimber hurls shutout against one of the most storied baseball programs in Washington’s history
Shaun Scott
A berth in the Class 4A state playoffs was on the line when the Puyallup Vikings and South Kitsap Wolves took the field on May 10 at Heritage Park.
Puyallup ace Adam Cimber made his way to the mound in the top of the first inning and walked off of the rubber with his fist in the air in the top of the seventh basking in the glow of victory. Cimber pitched a complete game, fanning 10 Wolves hitters while allowing a paltry seven hits in Puyallup’s 8-1 victory against South Kitsap.
“Adam has come up big time for us all year,” Puyallup head coach Marc Wiese said. “That’s what we come to expect out of him. He kept their hitters off balance and gave us a shot to get some runs on the board early. He got the outs we needed down the stretch too.”
South Kitsap’s best chance to score came in the second inning. Todd Dalrymple and Ghyn Hobson stroked two consecutive singles and the Wolves had runners at second base and third base with nobody out. Cimber responded to the challenge, striking out UW bound Collin Monagle for the first out of the inning and outfielder Chris Sizemore for the second out. Cimber finished the inning off enticing South Kitsap’s Scotty McGallian into a groundout, quelling the threat.
South Kitsap coach Jim Fairweather said his team didn’t seize the opportunity to make the game interesting in the early stages.
“We let them off the hook in the second inning,” Fairweather said. “It’s not that hard for anyone to pitch when you’re up 8-1. If we could have made it a one or two run ball game early on, it could have made a big difference. He’s a good pitcher and he threw like we knew he could today.”
Cimber wasn’t fazed by the dilemma he encountered in the top of the second.
“I knew that I just had to get the outs,” Cimber said. “I was just trying to throw strikes and keep the amount of balls I threw down. It worked out.”
Puyallup held a 3-1 lead through the first four innings of play before exploding for five runs in the bottom of the fifth, putting the game out of reach. Puyallup’s Tyler Peterson uncorked a grand slam that sailed over the left field wall, giving the Vikings a 8-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. Peterson went 2-for-3 with 6 RBI in the biggest game of Puyallup’s season thus far.
Wiese is excited about what his team could do in the Class 4A state playoffs
“If we play good baseball we got a shot of doing really well,” Wiese said. “Whoever we end up playing we need to get the breaks. Every team needs to find those kind of breaks when you play against the caliber of competition we’re going up against. There’s only 16 teams left. We’re in that round. We’re going to play hard and have fun.”
The Vikings are the No. 3 seed out of the West Central District III and will play at 10 a.m. on May 17 at Everett Memorial against an undetermined opponent as of press time.