Rams up to speed

YAKIMA, Wash. -- It was one of those splendid spring days for West Valley, with fans in shirtsleeves and plenty of crooked numbers on the home side of the scoreboard.

Enough so that Rams coach Klayton Wyckoff scanned his roster during the second game of WV's doubleheader with Sunnyside in an effort to find at bats for deserving reserves. And when senior Jon Thomson dug in with no outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the fourth Tuesday, he was ready.

Thomson swung hard at the very first pitch and, as the baseball saying goes, got all of it. The ball soared into the netting beyond the left field fence at WV, providing an exclamation point to the Rams' 10-0,
12-0 sweep.

Hitting heroics aside -- it was Thomson's first plate appearance of the season -- it was not his first notable accomplishment of the day.

In the first game, Thomson had combined with Lukas Hinton and Casey Croshaw to pitch a no-hitter.

"Jon will be the first one to tell you," Wyckoff said, "that he's not an everyday player and he's a pitcher only who doesn't hit. He's limited in his playing time, but he's embraced that. He's accepted his role, and he's a great kid to have around."

Or come around, which Thomson gleefully did after his big fly.

"I was running really hard toward second when I figured that I didn't have to," he said, smiling. "If I'd known I was going to hit one ahead of time, I might have done a little Boonie flip (ala former Mariners second baseman Bret Boone)."

If it sounded like Thomson was not well-rehearsed in running out a round-tripper, it's because he wasn't. The homer was his first -- not only of the year, but of his life.

"I didn't even hit one in Little League," he said.

The victories, both of which came in five innings, improved West Valley to 5-3. And while technically non-leaguers, they moved the Rams closer to Class 3A district play.

Wyckoff has been encouraged by his team's pitching depth, and the first game provided a notable example.

Lukas Hinton started with three perfect innings punctuated by six strikeouts. Thomson worked the fourth and got one out in the fifth before walking one batter and hitting another.

Croshaw came on, however, and his second pitch was banged into a game-ending double play.

"It's a good feeling to be part of something like that," said Hinton, a sophomore right-hander. "A no-hitter isn't something that happens every day at this level."

The most productive bats of the day belonged to Kurtis Wiles, who in the first game doubled twice, tripled and drove in three runs, and Corey Urquhart, who doubled and tripled twice in the second.

Game 1

Sunnyside 000 00 -- 0 0 3

West Valley 430 12 -- 10 11 0

Abbott and Rodriguez; Hinton, Thomson (4), Croshaw (5) and Andreas, Hillier (5).

Highlights: Kurtis Wiles (WV) 3-3, 2 2b, 3 RBI; Brad Andreas (WV) 2-3; Kyle Siekawitch (WV) 1-2, 3 RBI.

Game 2

Sunnyside 000 00 -- 0 4 3

West Valley 341 4x -- 12 10 0

Palomarez, Pickle (4) and Rodriguez; Vetsch, Jones (5) and Andreas, Hillier (4).

Highlights: Corey Urquhart (WV) 3-3, 2b, 2 3b; Tucker Leppa (WV) 2-3; Lukas Hinton (WV) 3b; Jon Thomson (WV) HR, 2 RBI.