CENTRALIA, WA - Clark College spent April 30 grinding through a pair of tightly contested games at Centralia, but despite strong pitching and late pushes in both, the Penguins came up short in a doubleheader sweep, falling 4–1 and 3–2.
The opener set the tone for the day—well-pitched, close early, but ultimately decided by execution in key moments. Centralia scratched across runs in the first and second innings to take an early lead, while Clark struggled to generate offense against a steady outing from the home side.
Still, Clark stayed within reach thanks to a gritty performance from Kaedon Cruse. The right-hander worked six innings, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run while navigating traffic on the bases. His ability to limit damage kept the game from getting out of hand.
The turning point came in the seventh, when Centralia took advantage of defensive miscues to plate two unearned runs and extend the lead to 4–0. Clark finally broke through in the ninth, as Jase Pashales came around to score on an RBI groundout by Rylan Taguchi, but the late spark wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
Game two followed a similar script—tight, low-scoring, and decided late.
This time, Rylan Taguchi took the ball and delivered another strong outing for Clark, going 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing just two runs (one earned). Centralia again struck first, pushing across a run in the third, but Clark responded in the fifth. Capitalizing on an error, Caleb Dale scored on a clutch RBI double from Lucas Tiernan to even things at 1–1.
From there, the margins stayed razor thin. Centralia regained the lead in the sixth with an unearned run and added another in the seventh to make it 3–1. Clark refused to go quietly, mounting a final push in the ninth. After working runners on base, Caden Taylor lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home a run and cut the deficit to one, putting the tying run within reach.
But just like in the opener, the comeback fell short.
Across both games, Clark's pitching staff gave them every opportunity. Cruse and Taguchi combined for 12 strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed, while the bullpen provided solid relief work to keep each game close. Offensively, however, the Penguins managed just eight hits combined and left multiple runners stranded in key situations.
The result was a pair of narrow losses that felt closer than the final scores suggested.
For Clark College, the takeaway is clear: the pieces are there. The pitching is steady, the defense is capable, and the opportunities are being created. The next step is turning those chances into runs—and flipping close games into wins.
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