Auburn Riverside prepares for district play | Prep baseball

The Auburn Riverside baseball team will play in the first round of the West Central District III/Southwest District IV 4A tournament at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 8 against Evergreen (11-9) of Vancouver at Heritage Fields in Puyallup. The Ravens (14-7) punched their ticket to the district tourney with a 1-0 win over Emerald Ridge (10-9) this past Thursday at Heritage.

May 7, 2012 1:03 pm
The Gonzaga-bound Michael Rucker continues to lead the way for the Ravens.
The Gonzaga-bound Michael Rucker continues to lead the way for the Ravens.

The Auburn Riverside baseball team will play in the first round of the West Central District III/Southwest District IV 4A tournament at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 8 against Evergreen (11-9) of Vancouver at Heritage Fields in Puyallup.

The Ravens (14-7) punched their ticket to the district tourney with a 1-0 win over Emerald Ridge (10-9) last Thursday at Heritage.

Auburn Riveride’s one-run first inning, with sophomore Joey Galeno driving in junior Chris Minteer, was all the squad needed to earn the No. 7 seed out of the South Puget Sound League 4A tourney.

Senior pitcher Michael Rucker got the win with five innings of work, giving up just one hit and striking out seven. Rucker, one of the area’s top pitchers, is bound for Gonzaga.

Junior Justin Jacobs notched the save with two innings on the mound, giving up just one hit.

Tuesday’s game is a loser out, with the winner moving on to face the winner of Kentwood (19-1) versus Gig Harbor on Wednesday.

The top-eight teams out of the WCDIII/SWDIV tourney move on to the state 4A playoffs beginning May 25 in Pasco.