Centralia star so bright, ‘It’s hard to believe he’s a freshman’

He hits, he pitches – and he’s just a freshman.

Andrew Pullin has done it all for Centralia this season, helping the Tigers to an impressive 11-3 overall record and a 9-1 mark in the Class 2A Evergreen Conference.

Primarily playing left field, Pullin is batting .444 and leads the team in RBI (20), doubles (four) and home runs (three). His batting average is second to senior Dominick Courcy, who’s hitting .475.

Pullin came up big in the team’s EvCo games against Tumwater and Elma last week. In a sweep of Tumwater, he went a combined 7-for-10 with nine RBI, including a 5-for-6 performance with two home runs and four runs scored in a 20-10 win over the Thunderbirds.

“He’s done a tremendous job for us,” Centralia coach Jon Rooklidge said.

“He’s performing like a seasoned veteran. It’s hard to believe he’s a freshman.”

Not only has he wielded a hot bat, he’s shown himself to be capable on the mound as well.

In the midst of playing those three EvCo games last week, Pullin started and pitched Centralia to a 7-0 win over Elma, finishing with a complete-game three-hitter.

In Tuesday’s 5-2 home win over Aberdeen, Pullin came into the game in relief and struck out six batters through the final two innings.

“That’s the type of performance he’s given us when we’ve needed him most,” Rooklidge said. “He’s come through. When the pressure is on, he performs at the highest level.”

The pressure will rise as the Tigers bid to reach the postseason. They lost their first EvCo game Wednesday in an extra-inning affair against Aberdeen and close out their regular season with River Ridge and undefeated Chehalis.

Local jumpers among best in U.S.

River Ridge senior Miles Coats ranks third in the nation in the boys triple jump following his performance last weekend at the Eason track and field invitational in Snohomish.

Coats jumped a personal-best mark of 48 feet, 103/4 inches to win the event. He also finished second in the high jump with a season-best 6-6.

Timberline freshman Sasha Weber was also in elite company. She won the girls high jump at the Eason meet at 5-5, and now leads state Class 3A in that event. She is ranked No. 1 nationally among freshmen high jumpers.

Carter commits to Central

After drawing interest from a few college softball programs, Black Hills catcher Elena Carter has signed with Central Washington.

Carter, the Wolves’ No. 3 hitter, will become the second Black Hills catcher to play for Central in the past few years. Current CWU catcher Nicole Rossman is in her second season on the Wildcats’ softball team. She graduated from Black Hills in 2005.

Latest baseball rankings

In the recent Washington baseball poll, five South Sound teams were ranked in their respective classifications.

Timberline is No. 5 in Class 2A, Chehalis remains at No. 2 and Centralia is No. 7 in Class 2A. Rochester (No. 8) and Rainier (No. 10) are ranked in the Class 1A poll.

Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473

mwochnick@theolympian.com