By Al Camp
Chronicle staff

     For Okanogan High School's young baseball team, the season came to an end May 6 during bi-district play at Wenatchee.
     The Bulldogs fell 8-1 to Brewster at Eastmont High School then dropped out of the tournament in a 20-3 pounding by Omak the same day at Wenatchee High School.
     Against Brewster, Jake Suder got his first start of the year. He went three innings, giving up four hits, striking out one and walking one.
     T.J. Gilman relieved Suder, giving up only one hit and one run in the final three innings.
     "They just hit," summed up coach Kevin Daling. "Jake did a good job for us. He threw strikes and got swings. We just had some lapses behind him."
     Brewster's Eli Driessen also made sure Okanogan did not get going with its bats, striking out 11 Bulldogs.
     Brewster was up 2-0 after two innings before taking advantage of two errors in the third en route to scoring four runs.
     Down 8-0, Suder walked in the sixth, reached second on a passed ball and scored on a double by Gilman.
     Hitting: Casey Cardenas 1-4, Jordan Bradley 1-4, Jason VanderWeide 1-3, Ruben Rodriguez 1-3, T.J. Gilman 1-2, double.
     Against Omak, the Bulldogs ran into pitcher Chris Lockwood. Again the senior found a way to handcuff the Bulldogs.
     "One through nine, I feel they have the most talented team in the league," Daling said. "Especially their pitchers. They really showed up against us.
     "Chris Lockwood was great again," he added.
     Okanogan (11-12) led 1-0 in the top of the first only to see the Pioneers respond with a run in the bottom of the inning.
     Omak blew open the game with eight runs in the third inning.
Jason VanderWeide started for Okanogan, giving up nine runs on three hits while walking four.
     "We kind of kicked it around a little bit again," Daling said. "Maybe with the errors and being an elimination game it might have gotten to him again."
     The coach said it was great to get his young kids playoff experience. Okanogan started as many as a handful of freshmen.
     Graduates this year include Casey Cardenas at shortstop and pitcher, Matt Featherly in centerfield, Ruben Rodriguez in left field and Derek LaMotte at pitcher and first base.
     "I was real happy with our season," Daling said. "I was real proud of our seniors and impressed with our freshmen, sophomores and juniors (Zach Chiles and Suder). Eleven wins are more than I thought we'd get at the start of the year."