That age-old phrase of “saving the best for last” would be a gross understatement given Charlie Nash’s recent performance at the plate.

The Friday Harbor senior belted the first home run of his high school career with a two-run blast over the left field fence that gave the Wolverines a bit of breathing room in the late stages of a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over a resilient Cedar Park Christian squad, Saturday at Hartman Field.

Nash, who had six base hits in just 18 appearances at the plate a year ago, smacked a single and a double off the wall in two previous at-bats in Saturday’s game. He finished the contest with three base-hits — two for extra bases — in three at-bats, a pair of RBIs and just a triple shy from what every baseball player would someday like to achieve, hitting for “the cycle”.

“It felt pretty good,” Nash said of two-run homer. “It’s the first home run I’ve hit for the team.”

With a runner on second and the Wolverines clinging to a 6-5 lead, Nash jumped on a fast ball headed down the middle of the strike zone and drilled it over the left field fence to put the home team up by three runs and the game out of reach.

Buoyed by a pair of nifty plays at second by freshman Amer Melic, the Wolverines pulled the plug on a pair of comeback bids by the Eagles, who jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, in their final two at-bats. Sophomore Brandon Lambright held Cedar Park scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings to seal the win.

With the victory, Friday Harbor clinched its fourth consecutive win of the season. 

Next

Following Tuesday’s game at La Conner, the Wolverines are home to host league rival Concrete, Friday, beginning at 4:30 p.m., and then square off against regional rival Nooksack Valley on Saturday; game time is noon. 

Friday Harbor 12

Darrington 0

Freshman Otis Cooper-West threw four innings of shutout ball and gave up a single base hit as Friday Harbor opened league play with a 12-0 win at home Friday over Darrington.

Seniors Alex Jangard and Roy Taylor accounted for five of the team’s 12 runs. Jangard had two runs and an RBI, and Taylor tallied one of each in leading Friday Harbor to its third straight victory in just five innings of play.