Strong Pitching Highlights 4A Openers

Pitching was the name of the game on Tuesday, with 9 of the 10 teams holding their opponents to five runs or less. Each winning team allowed no more than 3 runs, with two of the teams tossing shutouts. Let's get to the highlights from KingCo 4A Opening Day:

Crown Division
Roosevelt 1, Bothell 0 - Four Roughrider pitchers combined on a 4-hit shutout as Roosevelt made a single run in the bottom of the first stand up in a 1-0 win over the defending 4A state champion Cougars. Zach Naon scored the lone run of the game, scoring from first on Graylin Derke's first inning triple. Nick Ferguson was the winning pitcher, with Derke recording the final two outs of the contest to earn the save. For Bothell, Brady Mickelson was the tough luck loser, allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned while striking out 9 Roughriders. Rex Carlin had half of Bothell's four hits, including a double in the fourth inning.

Ballard 4, Garfield 2 - Caleb Jaeger struck out 8 in a complete game victory, as Ballard opened up KingCo play with a 4-2 win over the Bulldogs. Jaeger scattered four hits and a walk, allowing two earned runs in his seven innings of work. The Beavers got off to a hot start, scoring twice in the first on an error and an RBI double by Nelson Cooper. Rory Graf-Brennen doubled home two more runs in the second to stake Ballard to the 4-0 lead. Garfield would score twice in the fifth on an RBI double by Liam McFeely and a run-scoring single by Sam Kennard to cut the gap in half. However, Jaeger would finish strong, retiring 6 of the final 7 Garfield hitters to preserve the season-opening win.

Woodinville 13, Inglemoor 2 - The Falcons made a statement in their first KingCo game of 2012, scoring 10 runs in the first two innings en route to a 13-2 win over Northshore rival Inglemoor. Woodinville put six runs on the board before the Vikings had a chance to bat, and added four more in the second inning. A three-spot in the fourth would extend the lead to 13-0 and the Falcons would cruise from their for the 5-inning victory. Seniors Shea Donlin (Washington State commit) and TC Florentine each had 2 hits for the Falcons, while Oregon State signee Marty Luchenbach worked four innings for the win. Dustin Bradshaw took the loss for Inglemoor.


Crest Division
Newport 4, Issaquah 3 - The Knights scored twice in the top of the 7th inning to break a 2-2 tie and hang on for a hotly contested 4-3 win over their rival Issaquah Eagles. Issaquah jumped out early on Newport senior starter Billy Sahlinger, with RBI doubles from Blake Jones and Ethan Kalin. However, the Eagles would not score again until the seventh. Newport clawed their way back with single runs in the 4th and 6th innings to tie the game before the 2-run 7th inning rally. Issy would score once in the final frame to cut the lead to 1, but Aaron Sandefur shut the door, preserving the win for Newport. Senior southpaw Trevor Creek worked a shutout sixth inning to pick up the win, while Sahlinger was 1-2 with an RBI and 3 walks on the day.

Eastlake 5, Redmond 0 - Eastlake started the 2012 KingCo season off on the right foot, knocking off the defending Crest Division co-champion Mustangs 5-0 at Hartman Park. Junior Josh Barokas picked up the win for Eastlake, while sophomore Mason Pierzchalski was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Adam Cline was handcuffed with the loss for Redmond, which got a double from sophomore Lucas Eliason.

Skyline - BYE