A winning tradition stayed alive Sunday afternoon as the Lakeside Senior Legion baseball team held on for a 7-5 victory over Red Lion of Longview, clinching a trip to the this weekend’s 2009 Senior Legion State Tournament in Tacoma.

Head coach Rob Reese said earlier this season his team has only missed the state tournament twice in his 21 years at the helm. He can notch another one in his belt thanks to a fast start with the bats and a clutch save from his closer.

Lakeside jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the third inning of its loser-out contest with Red Lion at Newport High School, scoring one in the first and three in the second and third innings. Skyline’s Sean Penberthy and Shawn Ellis each had RBI hits, along with former Issaquah and current Columbia Basin College player Mario Sanelli.

Penberthy was 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Ellis was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI, and Sanelli was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI.

Red Lion was held scoreless by Lakeside starter Jared Fisher for five innings before finally breaking onto the board for two runs in the sixth inning. The Longview-based team, which had advanced to the state tournament the last 10 years, scored one more in the seventh and two in the eighth, but Lakeside closer and Skyline pitcher, Peyton Harrod, slammed the door in the ninth.

Lakeside started the tournament Saturday with a 19-9 victory over Kitsap Legion, before falling 8-6, on Sunday morning to the Twin City Titans — a team that advanced all the way to the Senior Legion World Series last year.

Lakeside, which moved to 26-12-1, plays two warmup games against Bellevue Baseball Wednesday and Thursday. The contests start at 5:30 p.m., at Newport High School. Lakeside, which features players from Newport, Issaquah and Skyline, opens the state tournament at 7 p.m., Saturday, July 25 against Centralia at Heidelberg Park in Tacoma. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament continues through, Wednesday, July 29 with the champion moving on to the Senior Legion Regional Tournament in Medford, Ore.

Other Lakeside teams move on

The Lakeside-Skyline and Lakeside-Newport Junior AA teams also earned state tournament berths. The tournament runs July 25-30 at University and Cheney high schools with the championship set for noon, July 30 in Spokane. The Lakeside Junior A team will make its attempt at the state tournament starting at 12:30 p.m., this Thursday against Oak Harbor at Skagit Valley Dream Field in Mount Vernon.