Thanks to some timely two-out hits and solid starting pitching, South Whidbey baseball won the first game of a doubleheader against Cedar Park Christian on Wednesday.

The Falcons took down the visiting Eagles 5-3 on the arm of senior Mo Hamsa and the bat of senior Brent Piehler. Hamsa threw six innings, fanned eight batters and gave up two walks. Piehler went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI.

“That was one of our most clean, complete games we played,” Falcon head coach Tom Fallon said.

“It was a long day. Whenever you play two it’s pretty draining,” he added.

Cedar Park Christian (6-4 Cascade Conference, 8-5 overall) trailed after South Whidbey scored three runs in the third inning. Ricky Muzzy, Connor Antich and Hamsa all scored, with the latter two brought in by Piehler’s two-out, two RBI single.

A pair of two-out hits padded the Falcons’ lead in the fifth inning. Muzzy scored on a two-out single by junior Charlie Patterson. Piehler brought in South Whidbey’s final run with a RBI single.

The nightcap belonged to Cedar Park from the start. The Eagles scored four runs in the first inning, prompting Fallon to pull Patterson off the mound.

Cedar Park went on to win 13-2 in a game shortened by the 10-run mercy rule.

“They just hit the ball extremely well,” Fallon said.

Cedar Park scored another four runs in the second, two in the third, two in the fourth and a final run in the fifth inning to ensure a 10-run lead. Austin Sterba and Campbell Albertsen also took the mound for South Whidbey, to little improvement against Cedar Park’s sharp hitting.

“It really didn’t matter who we were throwing at that point,” Fallon said. “They were rolling and we were flat.”

South Whidbey (2-8 conference, 3-9 overall) was set to visit Cedar Park in Bothell for the final game of the series Friday, after The Record went to press.

The rest of the regular season is crucial for South Whidbey. Its remaining opponents are all 1A teams and the outcomes will determine the postseason berths.