One inning upends Falcons in baseball

The South Whidbey baseball team was cruising along with a 5-1 lead Wednesday when a tough inning jumped up and bit them — six Granite Falls runs in the fifth inning overcame the Falcons 7-5 in the second of a series with the Tigers.

The Falcons jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning as Lucas Yale led the game off with a single. Robert Kirby then laid down a perfect bunt and run with Yale ending up on third base. Yale was then driven home on a single by Nick Tenuta. Tenuta came around to score on a Luke Hodson single.

In the third, it was Aaron Mannie driving in Tenuta with a sharp drive to center. Tenuta had singled and stole both second and third.

At the end of the third inning, the score was 3-1.

The Falcon fourth witnessed CJ Baker lead off the inning with an infield single. Baker was sacrificed to second by Adams and scored on a Kirby single to center. Mannie picked up his second hit of the game to lead the inning off. Hunter Rawls ran for Mannie and promptly stole second base and was driven in by an Eric Sparks single, for a 4-1 tally as the fourth closed out.

Jon Adams pitched the first four innings for the Falcons allowing only two Granite hits. Adams got the first batter out in the fifth inning before the dam broke. For all his work, Adams picked up a no-decision in the game as Falcon relief pitching couldn’t back him up. Granite picked up six runs on three walks and four straight singles.

“Defensively, the Falcons flashed some leather as Sparks robbed a base hit with an outstanding diving catch at second base,” Falcon coach Dave Guetlin said.

“Kirby wasn’t to be outdone as he made a play up the middle at shortstop with a 360-degree turn and gunned out the runner at first,” he added. “Tenuta and Yale had some great plays out in the outfield and were busy all day.”

Next week, the boys start a series against Archbishop Murphy. At 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 16 they’ll welcome the Wildcats to Falcon Field.

Falcons succumb to Lakewood in soccer

The South Whidbey boys soccer team lost to Lakewood 4-0 at home on Tuesday.

Goalie Dylan Fate noted the team was missing key forward Henry Mead and mid-fielder Charlie Wahl to spring break.

The Falcons are 2-5 in league play and 3-6 overall.

“The coach told us later that we needed to work harder on offense, regardless of who was playing,” Fate said. “He emphasized the need to keep the ball under control and attack through the wings.”

After travel to Sultan and Kings, the team welcomes Cedarcrest at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 to Waterman Field.

Hunter education classes forming

The Central Whidbey Sportsmen’s Association is hosting a hunter education course next month.

Classes consist of gun safety, understanding state game laws, game animal habitat and more.

The first three classes run from 6 to

9 p.m. on May 7, 8 and 9.

A fourth class runs from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 10. All classes must be attended for completion.

The association’s club house and range are located 2.5 miles south of Coupeville on Safari Street, just south of Morris Road and Highway 20.

For details, call instructor John Boling at 360-969-2440.

Local kids excel in

basketball skills contest

Six young people from Whidbey Island recently qualified for the Junior National Basketball Association Skills Challenge. They competed through a program sponsored by the South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District and their times qualified them for the regional competition this Sunday, April 13 at Key Arena in Seattle.

The regional finalists are Kody, Riley, Carly and Haley Newman, Chase White and Taylor Wimberly.

Riley Newman qualified with a time of 18 seconds.

“I did layups, free throws and dribbled around cones,” Newman recalled. “It was a lot of fun and we hope to do as well on Sunday.”

The skills challenge program gives boys and girls from age 7 to 14 the chance to showcase their dribbling, shooting and passing abilities.

The youngsters will try to qualify for the finals held in Orlando, Florida in May, based on the top three scores.

Register now for

this year’s Chum Run

Runners can now register for the annual Chum Run.

The run, designed for youth and adults, includes both team and individual competition. The 5-kilometer race will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 1 at

Community Park.

The Chum Run is organized by Down Sound Racing in partnership with South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District. The race is put on by runners for runners, but also encourages walkers and joggers to participate.

The fee is $20 in advance or $25 the day of the race.

For details, call 221-5484.