KingCo 4A Opening Day!

Today marks opening day for the KingCo 4A conference, with 10 of the league's 11 teams in action. Here's a quick look at today's schedule:

Garfield @ Ballard, 3:45 PM

Newport @ Issaquah, 3:45 PM

Bothell @ Roosevelt, 3:45 PM

Woodinville @ Inglemoor, 6:00 PM

Eastlake @ Redmond, 6:00 PM

The KingCo 4A preview will be up today or tomorrow as time allows. Looking forward to an exciting year of 4A action.

Opening Day for KingCo 3A

Been hard to keep track of which games have been played and which are still outstanding from last week's rainouts. Please shoot me an e-mail with any updates I am missing, as I'm still trying to get caught up.

Today brings the league openers for all 8 teams in the KingCo 3A/2A divisions. It also brings with it more rain (surprise). Already rain has moved the Sammamish - Lake Washington tilt to Sammamish HS at 4:30 PM. Other changes are likely as well. Here's the opening day schedule:

KingCo 3A/2A - Monday, April 4
Bellevue @ Mount Si, 4:30 PM (Mt. Si HS)
Interlake @ Liberty, 4:30 PM (Liberty HS)
Lake Washington @ Sammamish, 4:30 PM (Sammamish HS)
Juanita @ Mercer Island, 6:00 PM (Island Crest Park)

Friday (4/30) Preview

My apologies for falling behind a bit on the recaps. It's been a busy week! I'll be sure to get caught up over the weekend as we head into crunch time.

First off, here's a quick recap of the results over the past couple days:

Wednesday, 4/28
Bothell 5, LW 3
Inglemoor 10, Woodinvlle 2
Ballard 7, Roosevelt 3
Issaquah 6, Skyline 2

Thursday, 4/29
Newport 6, Garfield 1
LW 14, Roosevelt 8 (continuation of Monday's suspended game)

The current standings reflect that 6 of the 8 playoff spots have been decided, with Bothell the latest team to clinch a spot in the KingCo playoffs, which start Saturday, May 8th. The two playoff spots up for grabs are in the Crown Division, with three teams fighting for two spots. Two of those teams meet up this afternoon at 4:00 pm, when Lake Washington (6-8) hosts Woodinville (7-7) at Lee Johnson Field. The third team still in the running is Ballard (6-8), who travels to Bothell to take on the Cougars (8-6) at 6:00 pm. Ballard and Woodinville meet in the season finale next Tuesday, so meaningful baseball looks like it will be played through the end of the regular season.

In the Crest Division, a battle for supremacy between two long-time rivals takes place this afternoon at Newport as the Knights (10-4) host first place Issaquah (11-3) at 4:00 pm. The game has been designated "Coach Albo Day", a tribute to the long-time Newport head baseball coach Bob Albo. An Eagles win will put them one step closer to a division title, with Redmond (9-4) still alive. The Mustangs take on Issaquah in the season finale on Tuesday. Skyline (7-7) is firmly entrenched as the #4 seed.

Newport-Redmond Highlights Thursday Action

Thursday brings the return of divisional play, with the final five games of the season being played with each respective division. Amazingly enough, each of the six days of cross-division play were an even split, with 3 Crown teams and 3 Crest teams winning each day. Both divisions finished 18-18 in crossover play.

Today's feature game pits the Crest Division leading Redmond Mustangs (9-2) and the second place Newport Knights (8-3). Newport won the first contest, 4-1 with two-time KingCo 4A pitcher of the week Jeffery Gonzales outdueling Redmond ace Dylan Davis. A win for the Knights tonight would put them in a tie with the 'Stangs and give them the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm at Hartman Park.

Other games include:

• Woodinville (7-4) @ Roosevelt (2-9), 3:45 pm
• Skyline (5-6) @ Eastlake (1-10), 3:45 pm
• Inglemoor (10-1) @ Bothell (5-6), 6:00 pm
• Ballard (5-6) @ Lake Washington (4-7), 7:00 pm

The Garfield (2-9) @ Issaquah (8-3) game will be played tomorrow due to a scheduling conflict.

Monday Washout

All of Monday's games were rained out. Schedule for Tuesday, 3/30 is as follows:

• Garfield (0-2) @ Newport (2-0), 4:00 pm - Newport HS
• Skyline (1-1) @ Issaquah (2-0), 4:00 pm - Issaquah HS
• Woodinville (1-1) @ Inglemoor (2-0), 4:00 pm - Inglemoor HS
• Bothell (1-1) @ LW (2-0), 5:00 pm - Lee Johnson
• Eastlake (0-2) @ Redmond (1-1), 7:00 pm - Hartman Park

No word on a reschedule for Ballard - Roosevelt...

KingCo 4A Opening Day!

It's Opening Day for the KingCo 4A conference! Today's schedule is as follows:

• Bothell @ Inglemoor, 7:00 pm
• Lake Washington @ Ballard, 3:45 pm
• Roosevelt @ Woodinville, 7:00 pm
• Redmond @ Newport, 4:00 pm
• Eastlake @ Skyline, 3:45 pm
• Issaquah @ Garfield, 3:45 pm

Friday's Feature Games

The season's final Friday brings matchups between first and second place teams in both the Crown and Crest divisions, as well as a renewal of a KingCo 3A rivalry with third place on the line. Redmond (Crest) and Lake Washington (Crown) can each clinch division titles with wins tonight, while Skyline and Woodinville hope to keep their hopes alive going into Tuesday's finale.

Featured Games
Redmond (12-2) at Skyline (10-4), 3:45 pm - These two teams appear headed in opposite directions headed into this Crest division showdown. The Mustangs are the league's hottest team, taking an eight-game win streak to the plateau. Meanwhile, Skyline has stumbled a bit this week, dropping games to Newport and Issaquah to fall two games behind Redmond. Skyline won the first meeting between the two teams, 6-1, with ace Adrian Sampson keeping the Mustang bats in check. Sophomore Dylan Davis takes the bump tonight looking to even the season series and sew up a Crest division championship for the 'Stangs.

Lake Washington (11-3) at Woodinville (9-5), 7:00 pm - The league's lone night game features two teams looking to finish off perfect weeks, as the Kangs travel to Woodinville HS to take on the Falcons. Lake Washington defeated Roosevelt 9-3 on Monday and scored three runs in the seventh to top Bothell, 4-3 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Woodinville beat Bothell 10-4 on Monday and won a pitcher's duel against Inglemoor 2-1 on Wednesday. The Kangs won the first contest, 8-3 and can lock up the Crown division championship with a win. Meanwhile, a Falcon win closes the gap to a game and keeps their hopes alive for a co-division title.

Newport (7-7) at Issaquah (8-6), 3:45 pm - Two old friends meet up again to renew their rivalry as the Eagles, winners of four straight KingCo contests, play host to the Knights. Both teams are 2-0 this week and are known for playing their best baseball at the end of the year. Issaquah has one-run wins over Eastlake and Skyline this week, while the Knights thumped Skyline 8-1 on Monday before escaping against Garfield 6-5 on Wednesday. Issy topped Newport in the season's first meeting, 6-1. An Issaquah win will lock up no worse than a #3 seed for the Eagles, while Newport looks to stay in contention for a third place finish.

Rounding out today's slate of games:
Bothell (8-6) @ Ballard (3-11), 3:45 pm
Inglemoor (7-7) @ Roosevelt (2-12), 3:45 pm
Eastlake (4-10) @ Garfield (3-11), 3:45 pm

Final Day of Interdivisional Play

Tuesday's games are the last interdivisional games of the season until the playoffs begin on Saturday, May 9th. Starting on Thursday, the league hits the home stretch, with the final five games being played within the Crest and Crown divisions. The schedule is highlighted by a clash between two first place teams as Lake Washington (8-2) travels to Hartman Park to take on Redmond (8-2) in the KingCo 4A's lone night game (7:00 pm). The other games on the slate are:

Inglemoor (5-5) @ Skyline (8-2), 3:45 pm
Bothell (8-2) @ Eastlake (3-7), 3:45 pm
Ballard (2-8) @ Garfield (2-8), 3:45 pm
Roosevelt (1-9) @ Newport (4-6), 3:45 pm
Woodinville (7-3) @ Issaquah (4-6), 3:45 pm