HS Baseball: WF West Survives Shelton Thanks to Vallejo Walk-Off

4/30/25

WF West 4, Shelton 3

(Chehalis, WA) 9-0 and 8-1 were the scores the first two times that the WF West Bearcats and Shelton Highclimbers met on the baseball field earlier this season. Both games were won by the Bearcats and Shelton only scored one run in total and it was an unearned run at that. On Wednesday afternoon, the Highclimbers made the long trip to Chehalis to visit the new Bearcat Stadium for the first time in its turfed glory. Along with the trip seemed to be new confidence and belief oozing from the Shelton dugout as they looked to spring the first big upset of EvCo 2A play this season.

Shelton started off very quickly in the 1st. A leadoff triple by Carl Turnbow immediately put pressure on WF West starter Hayden Rooney. Boston Madison helped himself out with an RBI groundout to give Shelton the 1-0 lead before Madison took the mound. When he did take the mound, WF West put a man on second before a great play by Turnbow erased Deacon Meller at third. A base hit by Weston Potter brought around Ross Kelley, but a great relay from Daniel Crossan to Gunnar Jensen to Jax Ward cut down the run and protected the 1-0 Shelton lead.

The Highclimbers left runners stranded on the corners in the 2nd and WF West would change the tone of the game quickly. Leading off the bottom of the 2nd, Alex Stafford stood in against Boston Madison and took the first pitch for a ball. The second pitch was crushed. Stafford hammered one down the left field line and it cleared the Little Monster for a solo home run. The back-up catchers blast continued his stretch of hot hitting and tied the game at 1-1.

A great catch by Daniel Crossan prevented WF West from taking the lead and that momentum carried over for Shelton. In the 3rd, Carl Turnbow reached to leadoff again, this time after he was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Madison moved him to second, but with two outs the threat was fading. Two-out specialist Cam Winans wasn’t worried. Winans would come through with a two-out single, allowing Turnbow to score for the second time and putting Shelton back in front 2-1.

WF West couldn’t manage anything in the 3rd but Hayden Rooney stranded the bases loaded in the 4th. In the home half, Hudson McCallum drew a walk before Andrew McMillan came on to pinch run. Luke McMillan moved up Andrew with a groundout before McMillan stole third to put the tying run 90-feet away. With two outs, Beckman Dvorak hit one off the end of his bat that took a nasty hop on third baseman Gunnar Jensen. Somehow Jensen gloved it but the throw to first would be late, allowing McMillan to score and tying the game at 2-2.

Both teams missed out on scoring opportunities as Shelton cut down another run at the plate in the 6th. In the 7th and final inning, Shelton came out very aggressive. With Grady Westlund on the mound, Jax Ward reached on a one-out single to put the go-ahead run on. A wild pitch moved Ward to second with Cam Winans at the plate. Once again, Winans came through. A line drive the other way down the left field line got to the wall. Ward was able to score as Winans slid into second with a go-ahead RBI double. Shelton would only get that run but it was enough to give the Highclimbers a 3-2 lead with three outs left to get.

WF West had the top of the order due up in the home half of the 7th and Deacon Meller got the inning off to a hot start with a base hit. Ross Kelley represented the winning run and he reached after being hit by a pitch. A double steal worked to perfection as the tying run moved up to third and the winning run to second with nobody out. Shelton elected to intentionally walk Weston Potter to bring Carlos Vallejo to the plate and put the force at any base in order. Vallejo had other plans. A line drive to center field tied the game easily and the throw to the plate was too late to get Kelley. Vallejo had come through with the walk-off two-run single and WF West got to celebrate a dramatic 4-3 victory.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to the walk-off hero in Carlos Vallejo for WF West. The first baseman went 2-4 at the plate with the big 2 run single in the 7th. Vallejo would also make a couple of nice picks at first base to help out the Bearcats defensively as well.

The win gives WF West the season sweep of Shelton and moves the Bearcats to 15-2 overall and 10-1 in league play. The Bearcats return to action on Friday at 4:30pm at home against Black Hills before a big two games against Tumwater next week. Shelton falls to 7-10 overall and 6-6 in league play. The Highclimbers will also play Black Hills next on Monday at home at 4:30pm