Centralia sweeps Clark as Penguins’ field debuts

Centralia College spoiled the opener of Clark College’s new baseball field Wednesday, sweeping a doubleheader with 2-0 and 4-1 victories.

“It’s nice to be able to get out there and play on it after working on it for a year,” Clark coach Don Freeman said of the new field. “We would have liked to have christened it with a victory, but the kids were excited about playing on that field.”

The official grand opening and naming of the future Vern Kindsfather Field is set for May 7. Ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m., followed by a noon game against Lower Columbia College.

Centralia’s Devon Barker blanked the Penguins in a nine-inning complete game in the opener, allowing four hits. Single runs in the sixth and seventh innings were enough for the Trailblazers. Taylor Dunn pitched a complete game for the Penguins, allowing one earned run on a Ryan Knutz solo home run.

Centralia scored its four runs in the first three innings of the second game, chasing Clark starter Jake Dowers in two-thirds of an inning. Clark scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh and final inning as Jace Shelton pitched a complete game for the win.

Zach Girod was Clark’s best hitter on the day, Freeman said, going 2 for 4 in the first game then 1 for 2 with a double in the second.

“Well-played games by both teams,” Freeman said. “We actually had very good pitching. We had a lot of kids left on base, and we just couldn’t get timely hits. You’ve got to blame that on their pitchers.”

Clark is 9-21, 5-9 in NWAACC play.