Two wins away from state. (Lisa Jenne photo)
Not even a crash to “Crash” could stop Whidbey.
Despite losing catcher Taylor “Crash” Brown after he collided with the South Skagit catcher while caught in a rundown, the Whidbey Island Junior (13/14) baseball squad won at districts Wednesday to move within two victories of the state tournament.
The 15-10 triumph over Skagit lifts Whidbey into the championship series against unbeaten Sedro Woolley.
The Island squad, which is comprised of North, Central and South Whidbey players, with three Coupeville players (Nick Etzell, Jake Hoagland and JoJo Welling), needs to take two in a row to advance.
They open the finale 6 PM Thursday in Anacortes. Win that one and they return to play again Friday.
The two teams faced in the opener of districts, with Sedro pulling out a come-from-behind 3-2 win in extra innings, when a grounder got past the Whidbey shortstop.
With elimination on the menu, Whidbey and Skagit took turns trying to out-hammer each other Wednesday. The two teams combined for 17 runs in just the first two innings, with Whidbey staked to a 10-7 lead.
With a teammate having arrived on the bag while he was gone, Brown spun back for home and slammed into the Skagit catcher and had to be looked at by paramedics after complaining of pain in his right knee.
Once things were resolved, Welling set down Skagit the rest of the way to seal the win.
Coupeville Sports 
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