Catching Up...

Busy weekend for the blog - I'll get caught up here on some notable performances from Wednesday & Friday games.

• Redmond Remains Perfect in 4A- The Mustangs and Wildcats continued their domination of KingCo play, each posting 3-0 weeks last week. Redmond won their showdown with Bothell on Monday, 11-9 before dispatching of Crown division foes Roosevelt (16-0) and Woodinville (7-1). They are now 9-0 and three full games ahead of Newport for the Crest Division lead.
• Mount Si Lone Other KingCo Unbeaten- The Wildcats put together their second straight 3-0 week to improve to 6-0 on the KingCo season. They cruised on Monday and Wednesday, winning their two games by a combined 23-3. Friday brought their first close game of the KingCo season and they prevailed there as well, topping Lake Washington 2-1. Junior Reece Karalus allowed just a run and struck out 12 over 6 innings of work. The game was tied 1-1 into the bottom of the seventh when Nate Sinner became an instant hero. He singled to left field with one out, plating Trevor Lane with the winning run and keeping Mount Si undefeated. The Wildcats will look to complete the sweep of the first round of league play when they take on Interlake Monday.
• Wolverines Keep Pace with 3-0 Week- Bellevue remained just a game behind Mount Si in the KingCo 3A/2A standings, posting a perfect week with wins over Sammamish, Juanita and Mercer Island. The Wolverines only loss was an 8-5 defeat to Mount Si, but pitching and defense have helped them win every other league contest. They will take on Lake Washington Monday in a battle for second place in the conference.
• Mound Domination on Wednesday- On Wednesday, eight of the nine winning teams allowed three runs or less, including 5 shutouts. Scoreless performances were tossed by Adam Kline (Redmond), Matt Lunde (Skyline), Brian McAfee (Bothell), Marty Luckenbach (Woodinville) and Bob Cruikshank (Lake Washington).
• Proudfoot Smacks 5 Home Runs on Week - Mount Si senior shortstop Tim Proudfoot had a week for the ages, homering in each of the Wildcats' games on the week. He homered an amazing three times against Liberty, and hit one each against Sammamish and Lake Washington, leading his team to an undefeated start.
• The Brian McAfee Show - Bothell senior Brian McAfee's incredible season continued last week, with him single-handedly beating Issaquah on Wednesday. In the Cougars 1-0 win over Issaquah, McAfee was 2-for-3 with his solo home run providing the only run of the game. On the mound, he had another dominant pitching performance, going the distance allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out 10.
• Freshman Gets Totems their First Conference Win - Sammamish picked up its first league win of the season on Friday behind the arm of freshman Joe Giachetti. He went the distance, scattering 7 hits and allowing 3 runs (1 earned) in Sammamish's 4-3 win over Liberty.
• Rebels Prevail in 11-inning Game - Juanita and Interlake played one of the season's best games Friday, with Juanita scoring a single run in the top of the 11th for a 2-1 win.

Here's a quick rundown of Wednesday & Friday scores, with notable performances:

Wednesday 4A Results

Redmond 16, Roosevelt 0

- Peter Hendron (Redmond) - 4-for-5, HR, 6 RBI

- Adam Kline (Redmond) - 5 inning, 2-hit shutout

Ballard 4, Newport 3

- Nelson Cooper (Ballard) - 2-for-2, 2 doubles, RBI

Skyline 7, Garfield 0

- Matt Lunde (Skyline) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 Ks

- Nate Litka (Skyline) - 2-for-4, double, triple, 2 RBI

Bothell 1, Issaquah 0

- Brian McAfee (Bothell) - 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 Ks; 2-for-3, solo HR

- Andrew Kemmerer (Issaquah) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks

Woodinville 4, Eastlake 0

- Marty Luckenbach (W'Ville) - 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 Ks

Wednesday 3A Results

Mount Si 12, Sammamish 3

- Max Brown (MtSi) - 4-for-4, triple, 3 RBI

- Tim Proudfoot (MtSi) - 2-for-4, triple, HR

LW 10, Interlake 0

- Bob Cruikshank (LW) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 Ks; 2-for-4, 2 doubles, 4 RBI

- Zach Johnson (LW) - 2-for-3, 2 doubles

Mercer Island 15, Liberty 9

- Evan Thompson (MI) - 3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI

- George Jiranek (MI) - HR, 4 RBI

Bellevue 5, Juanita 1

- Drew Quinlan (Bellevue) - Allowed 1 run in the complete game victory

Friday 4A Results

Issaquah 6, Roosevelt 4

- Mitchell Morimoto (Issy) - 2-for-3, double, 3 RBI

- Reid Martinez (Roosevelt) - 2-for-3, triple, 2 runs

Skyline 6, Ballard 1

- Travis Snider (Skyline) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 Ks

- Clayton Huber (Skyline) - 3-for-3, RBI

Inglemoor 9, Eastlake 7

- Connor Savage (Inglemoor) - 4-for-4, double, RBI

- Obi Taylor (Inglemoor) - double, 2 RBI; Recorded final 8 outs of the game for the save, 5 via strikeout

Newport 8, Bothell 0

- Cole Wiper (Newport) - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 9 Ks - Nate Anderson & Aaron Sandefur (Newport) - each with a HR, 2 RBI

Redmond 7, Woodinville 1

- Zach Abbruzza & Michael Conforto (Redmond) - each with a HR, 2 RBI

Friday 3A Scores

Mount Si 2, Lake Washington 1

- Reece Karalus (MtSi) - 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 Ks

- Nate Sinner (MtSi) - walk-off single in bottom of the seventh

- Tim Proudfoot (MtSi) - solo HR (5th of the week)

- Spencer Jackson (LW) - 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER

- Bob Cruikshank (LW) - 2-for-3, solo HR

Bellevue 8, Mercer Island 7

- Jeff Van Orman (Bellevue) - 2-for-3, RBI

- Jack Carlson (Bellevue) - 3 HBP(!), 3 runs scored

- Jordan Richartz (MI) - 3-for-3, run

- Max Dammeier (MI) - 2-for-3, 2 doubles

Sammamish 4, Liberty 3

- Joe Giachetti (Samm) - CG, 7 H, 3 R (1 ER)

Juanita 2, Interlake 1

- 11 inning game

- Mitch Gebe (Juanita) - 3-for-5

- J.J. Caldwell (Juanita) - 2-for-4, RBI

- Austin Strothers (Interlake) - 8 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 5 Ks

Looking Back at Week 5...

Didn't have much time last week to expand on the results of some big games, so thought I'd take a minute here to review the happenings of week 5:

Unbeaten Teams
Redmond (2-0 last week, 10-2 KingCo, T-1st Crest Division) - The Mustangs had as impressive of a week as anyone in the KingCo 4A conference last week, winning a showdown between first place teams on Tuesday and handly winning on Thursday to complete the perfect week. On Tuesday, Redmond came back from an early 4-0 deficit, winning in the bottom of the seventh over Lake Washington, 7-6. The Kangs led 6-3 into the bottom of the fifth, when the sophomore connection of Dylan Davis and Michael Conforto struck again for the 'Stangs. Davis hit a 2-run home run on an 0-2 breaking ball to cut the gap to 6-5 and Conforto hit the first pitch he saw from LW relief pitcher Trevor Dunlap deep over the fence in right-center to tie the game at 6. Chad Hui-Peterson provided the game winner, lining a ball between two diving LW outfielders in right field, scoring Conforto with the walk-off run.

On Thursday, Redmond broke open a close game with a 9-run sixth inning en route to a 14-2 win over Newport. Davis shined on the mound this time, improving to 5-0 on the mound in KingCo play, allowing just 2 earned runs in 5 innings of work. Matt Kimmel led the Mustangs' 11-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with a double and 3 RBI.

Skyline (2-0 last week, 10-2 KingCo, T-1st Crest Division) - The Spartans needed a 2-0 week to keep pace with Redmond and got it with wins over Inglemoor on Tuesday and Eastlake on Thursday. Against the Vikings, junior right hander Adrian Sampson improved his league record to a perfect 6-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.41, surrendering just 1 earned runs in the complete game victory. Sampson struck out nine, bringing his league leading total to 52 against just 13 walks in 38 2/3 innings. Thursday, the offense carried the torch, pounding out 14 hits to lead Skyline to the 11-3 win over the Wolves. Ryan Gilchrist and William Chandler each had three hits for the Spartans, who are tied atop the Crest Division with Redmond, both sporting 10-2 records.

Issaquah (2-0 last week, 6-6 KingCo, 3rd Crest Division) - The Eagles emphatically snapped a three game losing streak with impressive wins over Woodinville and Garfield. On Tuesday, Issaquah scored 4 in the first and another 4 in the third en route to an 11-3 win over the Falcons. A balanced attack was the key offensively, as five different Eagles had multi-hit games. On Thursday, Issaquah completed the perfect week behind junior right hander Shane Yarnell, defeating Garfield, 8-2. Yarnell gave up just two unearned runs in a 90-pitch complete game victory. Issaquah holds a one-game lead over Newport for third place in the Crest Division at 6-6.

Week 2 Recap, Week 3 Preview

Week 2 of the 2009 KingCo season saw the last unbeaten team fall, as Skyline defeated Redmond on Saturday behind week 2 Crest division pitcher of the week Adrian Sampson. The Mustangs had won their first four games, before losing to the Spartans 6-1 in a make-up game from Wednesday.

Three teams had perfect week 2's: Bothell (3-0), Skyline (3-0) and Inglemoor (2-0). In the Crown division, the Cougars outscored their week 2 opponents 21-8, beating Lake Washington, Roosevelt and Ballard. Inglemoor used a potent offensive attack to sweep Woodinville and Roosevelt, scoring 22 runs in the process. Meanwhile, the most impressive week may have belonged to Skyline, who allowed just 2 runs in 21 innings of play. They topped Issaquah 8-1 on Monday, shutout Garfield 6-0 on Friday and completed the trifecta, beating Redmond on Saturday.

Through five games, both divisions look to be stocked with tough teams. The Crest division is led by Redmond and Skyline at 4-1, followed by Newport one game back at 3-2. Eastlake and Issaquah find themselves at 2-3, with Garfield rounding things out. In the Crown division, Bothell and LW are knotted at 4-1, with Woodinville lurking at 3-2. Ballard and Inglemoor are each 2-3, with Roosevelt occupying the final spot.

Week 3 starts interdivision play, with the next six scheduled game days featuring crossover games between the Crest and Crown division. Two first place teams face off at Lee Johnson Field tonight at 7:00 pm as Lake Washington (4-1) plays host to Skyline (4-1). Woodinville looks to have the toughest road this week, playing both Crest division first place teams starting with Redmond tonight at Woodinville HS. They finish up the week at Skyline on Thursday.

Stay tuned to the blog for the latest news around the KingCo 4A conference.

Week 1 Recap, Week 2 Preview

Week 1 in the KingCo 4A baseball conference showed just how tough the conference should be from top to bottom in 2009. Six of the league's twelve teams finished the week at 1-1 and seven of the twelve games played last week were decided by three runs or less. Of those seven games, three took extra innings to determine a winner.

Three teams remain unbeaten after two games. Redmond sits alone atop the Crest Division thanks to a 6-2 win over Garfield and a 9-1 win over Newport. In the Crown Division, Woodinville and Lake Washington took different routes to the same result. The Falcons used a potent offensive attack, scoring 19 runs in their two wins over Roosevelt and Bothell. Meanwhile, the Kangs allowed just one unearned run over 15 innings against Ballard and Roosevelt on their path to 2-0.

Week 2 is the first three game week, with game days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Redmond will run the plateau gauntlet, hosting Eastlake and Skyline before heading to Issaquah to take on the Eagles on Friday. Lake Washington faces all three Northshore school district teams this week, traveling to Bothell on Monday followed by home dates with Woodinville and Inglemoor on Wednesday and Friday respectively. Many other rivalries are renewed this week in the last week of divisional play before the teams spend two weeks playing crossover (out-of-division) games.