KingCo Title Game Set

The Eastlake Wolves will face the Woodinville Falcons on Thursday night for the KingCo title and the one seed out of district 2 to state. Both teams have already locked up a state berth as a result of their wins on Tuesday night.

In the early game, Eastlake's Conner Graham pitched the Wolves to state with 5 1/3 strong innings of shuotout ball over the Bothell Cougars. The Eastlake offense erupted in the top of the 7th for 4 runs and an insurmountable lead. Bothell will face Issaquah at 7 pm Tuesday night to stay alive in a fight for the third and final state berth.

Woodinville used a five run second inning to propel them to victory over the Redmond Mustangs 7-4 in the late game. The deciding blow was a line drive to left off the bat off Derek Svanevik that was lost in the sun by the Mustang left-fielder. Two runners and Svanevick would come around to score on the play. Redmond faces Skyline at 4 pm at Woodinville HS as both teams will work to keep their season alive.

Playoff Time

With Monday in the books, eight teams from KingCo 4A turn their attention to Saturday, May 10th at Woodinville High School for playoff baseball. The bracket can be found here: http://www.kingcoathletics.com/baseball-4a.html

Here's a brief recap of Monday's action:

Redmond 5 @ Eastlake 3 - Mustang senior Brandon Burditt doubled with two outs in the third and the bases loaded, scoring two. Redmond starter Jacob Brady got the win and senior Jack Baugher got the save. For the Wolves, senior Mick Vorhof had two hits. Eastlake, the four seed from the Crest, will now face Skyline in the playoffs on Saturday.

Issaquah 4 @ Roosevelt 5 - Issaquah plated two runs in the 6th to go up 4-2 only to see Roosevelt answer with three of their own in the bottom of the inning to take the 5-4 lead. Roughrider Max Dwyer came on in the 7th to notch the save. Both teams finish with a 7-8 divisional record but Roosevelt won the tiebreaker by sweeping the Eagles and will be the three seed, facing Bothell on Saturday. Issaquah, the four seed from the Crown will face Redmond.

Woodinville 2 @ Inglemoor 0 - Woodinville scored one in the first and one in the 6th to secure the three seed in the upcoming playoffs. Senior Drew Accimus had two hits and a RBI. Alex Worthington, Henry Coba, and Will Jack combined on the shutout for the Falcons. Woodinville now looks to continue their winning ways against Newport on Saturday.

Garfield 0 @ Newport 8 - Newport put up a six spot in the first which was more than enough for Junior Todd Reese who spun a one hit shutout of the Bulldogs. Brian Setijono had two hits and three RBI for the Knights.

Skyline 3 @ Ballard 1 - Spartan Sam Lawrence held the Beaver bats at bay with six strong innings of one run ball. Senior Cole Blackburn had a hit and scored two of the Spartans' three runs. The loss eliminates Ballard from the playoffs while Skyline continues to build momentum with their fifth consecutive win.

Coming Down to the Wire

With just two more days of games, Friday and Monday of next week, the teams in 4A are fighting for playoff spots and seeding. Wednesday's action saw some lopsided results which is atypical of the season thus far. At this point, only three teams have clinched playoff spots: Skyline in the Crown and Bothell and Redmond in the Crest. The rest is up for grabs.

Skyline 8 @ Issaquah 1 - Issaquah opened up the scoring with one run in the first, but that was all they could muster off Spartan starter Drew Lunde. The big lefthander threw six innings of two hit ball. Skyline did most of its offensive damage in the early innings with three runs in the second and two in the third. The offensive leaders for Skyline were once again Cole Blackburn and Jason Santiago, each producing two hits. With the win, Skyline locked up a playoff spot and is in the driver's seat for the 1 seed in the Crown.

Newport 2 @ Roosevelt 0 - Newport starter Ryan Kingma went the distance only allowing one Roughrider hit on the day. Though Newport managed just five hits of their own, they were good enough to plate two runs. Junior Todd Reese drove in one of those runs while senior Paul Wells collected two of the hits for the Knights. Newport, with the win, still has a chance to unseat Skyline atop the division. They need a win on Friday against the Spartans to do that and another win on Monday coupled with another Skyline loss.

Garfield 8 @ Ballard 6 - The Bulldogs are doing a fine job of playing spoiler right now as they collected their second consecutive win over a Crown Division foe. Garfield found itself up 6-1 after a five spot in the 4th inning with Alex Chase doing much of the damage with a three run double. However, the Beavers came storming back to cut the lead to one. It wouldn't be enough as Garfield added two more in the 6th. For the Bulldogs, Patrick Lin, Duncan Skerrett, and Henry Freed had two hits. The loss keeps Ballard in a tie for the 4th playoff spot with Roosevelt. Both teams sit at 5-8, a game behind Issaquah.

Bothell 12 @ Inglemoor 0 - Quinn Gleed faced one batter over the minimum as Bothell rolled in a game shortened to five innings. Gleed, a sophomore right-hander, gave up an infield hit to the first batter he faced, erased that runner with a double play, walked the next batter and then retired the last 13 Ingelmoor hitters to come to the plate. He struck out four and needed only 59 pitches to complete five innings. Sam McPherson led Bothell at the plate with three hits and three RBI. Peyton Cordova-Smith and Shawn Munro each added two hits and two RBI, and Daniel Fredrickson had two hits, walked twice, and scored three runs. Bothell (9-4 in Kingco) will play Redmond (9-3) on Friday in a game that will decide the champion of the Crest Division.

 

Eastlake 4 @ Woodinville 9 - The two teams exchanged blows early as Woodinville scored one in the first and two in the second. Eastlake, for its part, put up three in its half of the second as senior Mick Vorhof cleared the bases with a double. Woodinville would have the next response as senior Drew Accimus celebrated his senior night with a three run bomb in the 4th. The fireworks would continue as Woodinville kept lighting up the scoreboard, the last time on a solo shot by Davis Bailie in the 6th. The game puts Woodinville in third in the Crest a game ahead of Eastlake. Eastlake currently holds the 4th and final playoff spot, sitting a game ahead of Inglemoor. Eastlake will host Inglemoor on Friday which will go a long way in determing who will find itself in the KingCo tournament.

Brief Recap of Monday's Action

A bit short on time here, so I'll give a brief, short recap of KingCo 4A baseball from Monday.

Woodinville rode the left arm of junior Alex Worthington to knock off Crest Division leading Redmond, 2-1. Woodinville scored a run in each of the first two innings which ended up being enough.

Ballard pounded out 12 hits in slugging their way to a 9-2 win over Newport, which ties Ballard for the 4th and final playoff spot with three games to play.

Garfield claimed their first KingCo win of the season as they fought their way to a 6-2 win over Issaquah. The Bulldogs got a complete game effort from Owen Vickery on the mound.

Eastlake bouyed thier playoff hopes with a 3-2 win over Bothell. Senior Mick Vorhof earned the complete game win on the mound while also scoring the winning run in the 7th.

Skyline scored three runs in the first to overcome Roosevelt 3-1. Spartan Jake Kargl had two doubles on the day, driving in two of the three runs.

Below are the current standings with three games to play in the Crown Division. For the Crest, Redmond, Bothell, and Woodinville have two to play while Inglemoor and Eastlake have three. The top four from each division will make the KingCo Playoffs beginning May 10th at Woodinville High School.

Crest Division

Team	W	L	GB
Redmond	9	3	--
Bothell	8	4	1
Eastlake	6	5	2.5
Woodinville	6	6	3
Inglemoor	5	6	3.5

Crown Division

Team	W	L	GB
Skyline	8	4	--
Issaquah	6	6	2
Newport	6	6	2
Ballard	5	7	3
Roosevelt	5	7	3
Garfield	1	11

Divisional Rivalries Resume

Wednesday saw only four games as Eastlake sat idle with a bye and the Garfield-Skyline matchup was postponed. If anything, the day only tightened the races rather than clearing anything up.

Woodinville 8 @ Bothell 5 - Alex Worthington struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings of relief to spark Woodinville to the Crest Division victory. Worthington, a junior left-hander, entered the game with the bases loaded, no outs, and two runs already in in the bottom of the first inning but minimized the damage there and worked around trouble all night, giving up only two runs. Woodinville catcher Lee Wunderlich broke a 5-5 tie in the fourth inning with a run-scoring single and finished with three hits and three RBI. Trevor Cook hit two doubles, drove in two runs, and struck out two batters to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh. Peyton Cordova-Smith and Colby Nealy drove in two runs apiece for Bothell. The loss drops Bothell to second in the Crest Division as Woodinville jumps into a tie with Inglemoor for the 4th spot.

 

Inglemoor 2 @ Redmond 5 - The Mustangs' Kyle Francis turned in another dazzling performance on the mound in six innings of one run ball. He also helped himself with an RBI in the first to set the tone offensively. It was senior Daniel Bies, however, who had the big blow for the Mustangs as he laced a bases loaded two out single through the left side of the infield which pushed the Mustang lead to 3-0. All told, eight Mustang starters had a hit on the day. For Inglemoor, senior Curtis Bafus had two of the four Viking hits. The win runs Redmond's streak to eight games in a row and a one game lead over Bothell in the Crest Division standings.

 

Newport 3 @ Issaquah 5 - Issaquah lefty Ryan Peart tossed six innings, keeping the Newport hitters off-balance for most of the day. However, the Knights never gave in, battling back with a run in the 4th and 6th. In the 7th, Newport had cut the lead to two with runners at second and third. That is when Eagle reliever David Van Halm beared down and got the ground ball he needed to end the game. For Newport, Jace Goforth had two hits while Issaquah's Nic Sutherland had two as well. The win bumps Issaquah into a second place tie with Newport at 6-5. Both teams are a half game behind Skyline.

 

Ballard 4 @ Roosevelt 1 - Ballard made its five hits stand up as they inched closer to the 4th and final playoff spot with a victory at Lower Woodland. The big hit, a two out, two RBI double in the third off the bat of senior John Peterson, was all the Beavers would need. Ballard starting pitcher Zach Ehrlich went the distance allowing a single run on four hits. Ballard is now 4-7 while Roosevelt sits a game ahead at 5-6.

 

 

Final Day in Crossover Play

Monday was the last time teams from the Crest and Crown would meet until the playoffs. In the Crest, the playoff picture is gaining some clarity with Bothell and Redmond at 8-2, three games ahead of Eastlake (5-5) and Inglemoor (5-5) and four ahead of Woodinville (4-6). In the Crown, the top four are jumbled with one game separating the leaders Skyline (6-4) and Newport (6-4) from Roosevelt (5-5) and Issaquah (5-5). Ballard, still in the discussion, sits at 3-7.

Newport 3 @ Bothell 10 - Cam Gale was 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI to lead Bothell to the crossover victory.  Gale, a senior catcher, hit a three-run double in the bottom of the fifth to break a 3-3 tie and added a two-run single in the sixth as the Cougars pulled away.  Tyler Wharf added two hits and three RBI, and Daniel Fredrickson was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases for Bothell. Senior right-hander Colby Nealy picked up the victory as he gave up only one earned run in six innings, striking out six.  Ethan Paul had a double and a run-scoring triple for Newport, and Paul Wells was 2-for-2.

Issaquah 5 @ Eastlake 2 - Issaquah jumped on Eastlake ace Mick Vorhof early with two runs in the first and one in the second. Junior Luke Watanabe was the big star for the Eagles with a three hit day. Seniors Derek Chapman and Mitch Morimoto eached chipped in a triple. With Issaquah's pitching a bit depleted after three games in four days, junior Tyler Huling stepped up to toss five solid innings. For Eastlake, sophomore Mark Whitley had two hits.

Ballard 2 @ Redmond 12 - The Mustangs stayed red hot as seniors Brandon Burditt and Lucas Eliason led the offensive charge on this day. Burditt, for his part, blasted an 0-2 pitch in the 4th inning over the centerfield fence for a two run homerun. Eliason, not to be outdone, hit a two run homerun in the first and a three run walk-off homerun in the 5th. On the mound, Jacob Brady earned the victory with five innings of work, allowing four hits and two runs. Ballard's Taylor Hanson had one of those hits, a double on which he would eventually score.

Roosevelt 0 @ Woodinville 10 - Woodinville erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the 5th to walk off with a 10-0 win. Leadoff hitter Brett Donlan had two hits and three RBI for the Falcons while cleanup man, Davis Bailie, had a homerun and triple. Senior Will Jack delivered five strong innings of two hit ball on the mound for the victory.

Garfield 2 @ Inglemoor 6 - Inglemoor put up three runs in the bottom of the 6th to break open a previously close game. Sophomore Grant Harris got the start and win for the Vikings through five innings of two run ball.  The southpaw struck out four. Though Garfield out hit Inglemoor 6-4, the Vikings made theirs count, primarily Inglemoor senior Curtis Bafus who had two RBI on the day. For the Bulldogs, sophomore Eli Wilson and senior Derek Billey each had two hits.

One for Saturday

Issaquah 0 @ Redmond 9 - Redmond sophomore starter Brendan Ecklebarger held the Eagles hitless through four and got plenty of offensive support on the day in his first career KingCo victory. In the 4th inning, the Mustangs broke the game wide open as they put up an eight spot thanks in large part to senior Kyle Francis' grand slam. He had two total hits and 5 RBI on the day. Fellow senior Jacob Brady also had two hits.

Friday's Fireworks in 4A

Redmond 6 @ Skyline 2 - The Redmond Mustangs continued their winning ways as they rode their pitching to victory once again. Mustang starter Kyle Francis tossed five strong innings, limiting the Spartans to two runs on six hits. Senior Chandler Homer came on to pitch a perfect two frames. The Mustang bats also woke up with 13 hits, three of those from sophomore Brendan Ecklebarger. Lucas Eliason and Jacob Brady chipped in two hits of their own. For Skyline, third baseman Jason Santiago continued to hit the ball with two hits.

Bothell 8 @ Garfield 3 - Bothell starter Quinn Gleed pitched six strong innings and Sam McPherson drove in three runs to lead the Cougars to the crossover victory. Gleed, a sophomore right-hander, allowed one run on six hits and struck out five en route to his first Kingco victory. McPherson ignited a four-run third inning with a two-run single and added a run-scoring single in the sixth. Colby Nealy added two hits and an RBI for Bothell, and Daniel Fredrickson scored two runs. For Garfield, Duncan Skerrett was 2-for-4 and Henry Freed drove in a run with a double.

Woodinville 3 @ Issaquah 7 - Issaquah starter Ryan Peart threw a complete game only allowing the three runs on four hits. All three of those runs were scored in the second inning with Falcon junior Davis Bailie contributing a double. For the Eagles, their damage was done late with two in the 5th and three in the 6th. Derek Chapman and Jack Gellatly had two RBI for Issaquah while Mitch Morimoto tossed in a triple for good measure.

Eastlake 3 @ Newport 7 - Junior Todd Reese pitched the Newport Knights to victory and first place in the Crown Division through six and 2/3 innings of two run ball. The game was very much in question until the 4th inning when Newport erupted for four runs. They followed that with an encore of two runs in the 5th. Junior outfielder Jace Goforth was a major contributer for the Knights with three hits, two of which were doubles, and 3 RBI. Sophomore AJ Block went yard and had 2 RBI.

Inglemoor @ Ballard - details to come

OOOPS - 4A Division Name Mix-up

Apparently, this blogger has confused the division alignment. In actuality, Bothell, Inglemoor, Woodinville, Eastlake, and Redmond are in the Crest Division. Newport, Issaquah, Skyline, Roosevelt, Ballard and Garfield comprise the Crown Division. So, any previous mentions have been backwards. In short, actually it is the teams of the Crest Division that have had the better days in the last two weeks of crossover play. My apologies.

A Rainy Day in 4A

Four of the five games slated for Wednesday slogged through the conditions to push the schedule forward. Only the Issaquah at Redmond tilt was washed. That game is set for Thursday at 3:45 at Hartman Park. Again, the Crown Division had the upper hand on the Crest going 3-1 on the day. On to the highlights.

Newport 7 @ Woodinville 3 - What started out as a pitcher's duel between lefty starters, Ryan Kingma for Newport and Alex Worthington for Woodinville, ended up with fireworks for the Newport Knights. The Knights were able to put up three runs in the 6th and two in the 7th to pull away to victory. Junior Jace Goforth had two hits while newcomer Bryce Beck contributed a 2 RBI double for Newport.

Roosevelt 1 @ Bothell 2 - Colby Nealy pitched into the seventh inning and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lead Bothell to the victory. Nealy retired the first 14 batters he faced, struck out 11, and gave up one run on two hits in 6 1/3 innings. Roosevelt starter Myles Gouveia also was magnificent on the mound as he gave up one run on one hit and struck out 10 in seven innings. Cam Costa led off the ninth for Bothell with his second hit of the night. Peyton Cordova-Smith beat out a bunt for a hit, and Costa took third on a throwing error. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Nealy lofted a fly ball over a drawn-in outfield to score Costa. Connor Anderson stranded a runner at third in the top of the eighth and struck out the side in the ninth to pick up the victory for Bothell. Lev Karlet had two hits for Roosevelt.

Garfield 3 @ Eastlake 13 - In a six inning affair, the Eastlake Wolves jumped all over the Garfield Bulldogs early. Scoring four in the first and four more in the second, Eastlake was on its way to victory. However, Garfield answered with three of their own in the third, but that would'nt be enough as the Eastlake offense couldn't be stopped. Sophomore Nathan Mano walked five times for Eastlake and scored on three of those. He also stole three bases. Senior Mason Pierchalski delivered the deciding blow with a bases loaded double in the 6th.

Skyline 5 @ Inglemoor 6 - Skyline dropped its first crossover game in dramatic fashion as Inglemoor scored four of their six runs in the 7th inning for the walk off win. After scoring one in the sixth, the Vikings pulled within three. Then, in the 7th, senior Bailey Fee mashed a ball off the scoreboard for a game tying three run homerun. A misplayed pop up followed the dramatic homerun which came around to score on a 3-2, two out single off the bat of Tanner Mitchell. For Skyline, Deigo Gaterol was 2-3 and Cole Blackburn had 2 RBI.

 

KingCo 4A Crossover Continues

The Crest Division punched back on Monday after dropping 8 of 10 to the Crown Division the previous week. On Monday, the Crest went 3-2. Skyline, the only team from the Crest to win last week, kept it rolling with another crossover victory.  Skyline sits alone at 6-2 with Roosevelt a game back at 5-3 after dropping their last three. Newport is 4-3 with Issaquah at 3-4. Ballard and Garfield are fighting to stay in the playoff hunt. In the Crown Division things are getting interesting as Bothell and Redmond sit atop the division at 5-2 while Eastlake lurks a game back at 4-3. Woodinville and Inglemoor are tied for 4th at 3-4. Top four teams from each division will make the KingCo Playoffs.

Redmond 1 @ Roosevelt 0 - Redmond's Jacob Brady was straight dealing as he struck out 11 in six innings of shutout ball. Aside from Roosevelt's Spencer Barclay who had the only two hits off of Brady, the Mustang right-hander was dominant. For Redmond, a lone run in the top of the first off Roosevelt starter Max Dwyer was the difference. The run came via a sac fly from Lucas Eliason. Dwyer only gave up one hit in five innings of work. The Mustangs mustered just two hits all day, both from senior Brandon Burditt.

Eastlake 3 @ Skyline 6 - The Wolves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Skyline ace, Drew Lunde. However, after that the lefty settled down only allowing a single hit through five innings. Through four, Eastlake's lefty, Conner Graham, was going toe to toe with Lunde. However, a couple of extra base hits from Jason Santiago and Cole Blackburn helped the Spartans to a four spot in the 5th. That was good enough for a 6-3 Spartan victory.

Bothell 2 @ Ballard 4 - Ian Scott threw a three-hitter and Kyle Ward drove in three runs to lead Ballard to the victory over Bothell. Scott, a senior left-hander, gave up single runs in the first and second but surrendered only one hit the rest of the way to give his team a chance to come back. Scott also scored a run on a sacrifice fly by Brian Kreshel. Ward singled in a run in the second inning to get the Beavers on the board and then broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run single in the sixth. Jack Lund scored two runs for Ballard.

Inglemoor 6 @ Issaquah 7 - The Inglemoor Vikings jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Issaquah Eagles and starter Ty Gibson. However, Issaquah's bats wouldn't be denied as they put five runs across in the bottom of the third. Inglemoor responded with two more runs in the 6th only to find Issaquah respond with two of their own, one the game winner on a Keegan Chaplin sac fly, in the bottom half of the 6th. For the Vikings, Jake Watkins had two hits and three RBI while Issaquah saw Ryan Peart with three hits and Jack Gellatly with two.

Woodinville 7 @ Garfield 4 - The Woodinville Falcons scored four runs in the 7th to post a victory over the Garfield Bulldogs. Garfield starter Owen Vickery held the Falcon bats at bay most of the game yielding only three runs in six inning of work, leaving with the lead. However, a bases loaded bloop single in the 7th off the Garfield reliever was the Bulldogs' undoing as Woodinville was able to plate three on the play. For Garfield, Henry Freed had two hits and three RBI while Woodinville got doubles from Lee Wunderlich and Drew Accimus.

Crossover Monday in 4A

On the first day of crossover play, the Crown Division went 4-1. Also, both previously unbeaten KingCo teams, Roosevelt and Bothell, dropped their first conference game.

Bothell 1 @ Skyline 8 - Skyline's Drew Lunde threw a complete-game five-hitter and Cole Blackburn drove in four runs on two extra-base hits as Skyline snapped Bothell's eight-game winning streak and handed the Cougars their first loss in KingCo play. Lunde, a senior left-hander, gave up a run with one out in the top of the first then retired 15 straight hitters before Bothell put another man on base. Lunde, who will play for Washington State next year, also had two hits at the plate. Blackburn broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run triple in the third inning and added an RBI double in the fifth. Alex Wu added two hits and scored two runs for Skyline. Sam McPherson doubled and scored Bothell's only run.

Redmond 5 @ Garfield 1 - Despite loading the bases in each of the first three innings, Garfield couldn't put any runs on the board until the sixth inning. By that time, Redmond had taken a 5-0 lead on some timely hitting. In the first and third innings, the first two Mustangs hitters were out quickly. However, two out magic saw the Mustangs plate a pair of runs in each of those innings. Junior Milo Mincin had three hits on the day, one a double, for the Mustangs, and senior Kyle Francis was 2-2 with a double prior to being pulled due to injury. Jeff Lawyer also chipped in a pair of hits in his first start of the year. For the Bulldogs, Henry Freed and Duncan Skerrett each had two hits.

Inglemoor 3 @ Newport 2 - Newport's sophomore lefty, A.J. Block, was on cruise control until the 7th inning, only allowing a single Inglemoor run in the 2nd inning, a solo shot from Viking Bailey Fee. However, in the 7th, down 2-1, Inglemoor's leadoff man reached on an error. Moved over on a sacrifice bunt, Cole Weber was at the plate with two out. He promptly singled to right center to tie the game. From there, sophomore Grant Harris laced a double to put the Vikings ahead. Senior Kody Sanders shut the door, tossing the three final innings for the win.

Eastlake 4 @ Roosevelt 3 - Eastlake's Connor Graham put up his second consecutive solid start on the mound as he and the Wolves handed Roosevelt their first KingCo loss on the season. The lefthander threw five innings, allowing three runs on three hits. That was enough as the Eastlake offense got to the very tough Roughrider starter, Myles Gouvea. Much of the offense was from the top of the order as sophomore Nathan Mano was 3-3 while Mason Pierzchalski added two hits and Mitch Augenstein scored a pair of runs. For Roosevelt, Ryota Nishino was on base all four times, stealing two bags.

Woodinville 8 @ Ballard 6 - It looked as if the Ballard Beavers were going to run away with this one as they were up 6-2 early, after a five run third inning. However, in the 6th, the Woodinville bats came alive as they scored three runs to pull within one. The Falcons then tied the game in the 7th on a big double from senior Lee Wunderlich. In the 8th inning, Woodinville added two more runs to secure the win on another double, this one the two out variety from Drew Accimus. Trevor Cook came on in the 8th for the Falcons to close the door for the save.

KingCo Non-League Action

Bothell 17 @ Bellevue 4 - Bothell pounded out 14 hits off six Bellevue pitchers to cruise to the non-conference victory. Conner Walker and Blair Carlin each had three RBI for the Cougars, and Daniel Fredrickson had three hits and scored four runs. Cam Costa and Peyton Cordova-Smith added two hits and two RBI apiece for Bothell, which has won eight straight games and is 8-1. Chris Schasteen hit a 2-run double for Bellevue, Chandler Hawk had a double and a sacrifice fly, and Cal Neely had two hits and drove in a run.

Friday Night in KingCo 4A

Friday was the last night of divisional play in 4A before the teams from the Crown and Crest divisions cross over to play each other. In 4A, teams will play divisional foes twice and crossover once. On to the action.

Newport 6 @ Garfield 1 - Newport won their third game in a row behind strong pitching from junior Todd Reese. The righthander tossed four shutout innings prior to giving way to relievers. The Knights scored early with three runs in the first and three in the third. Junior Paul Wells was the star offensively with two knocks and two stolen bases. Though Garfield matched the Knights hit total with eight, they just couldn't get the timely hit to push runs across. Both Derek Billey and Ben Koerner had a pair of hits for the Bulldogs.

Roosevelt 2 @ Issaquah 1 - The surprising Roughriders, picked to finish fourth in the coaches poll, completed a perfect 5-0 record in their first round of divisional games with a 2-1 win over Issaquah. Once again, Roosevelt got strong pitching as they only allowed one run to a potent Eagle attack. Thus far, the Roughriders have allowed 0, 2, 0, 0, and 1 run in their five divisional games. Against the Eagles, Roosevelt rode the arms of Spencer Barclay and Max Dwyer as the pair only allowed the first inning run. Roosevelt plated a single run in the 5th and in the 6th inning for the win.

Ballard 6 @ Skyline 8 - With a big five run inning in the 3rd, the Skyline Spartans outslugged the Ballard Beavers. In a conference known for low scoring affairs, the two teams combined for 19 hits and 14 runs. Five Skyline hitters each had two hits with senior Jason Santiago one of them collecting three RBI and scoring two runs. No information could be found on the Ballard offense at time of posting.

Eastlake 0 @ Redmond 1 - The visiting Eastlake Wolves brought ace Mick Vorhof to the hill. The righthander was again excellent on this night, pitching six strong innings limiting the Mustangs to four hits without walking a batter. However, one of those hits was a 4th inning solo homerun off the bat of Redmond senior Kyle Francis. It was also Francis who had the ball for the Mustangs, and he too went the distance for a complete game shutout striking out three and turning three 1-6-3 double plays on the night. Sophomore Chase Hall also had a good night, collecting two of the four Mustang hits.

Inglemoor 2 @ Woodinville 4 - The Woodinville student section on the hill at WHS were again raucous as they watched their Falcons score a single run in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th innings to drop the Inglemoor Vikings. Davis Bailie, Lee Wunderlich, and Chris Okura each had two hits to pace the Falcon offense while junior Alex Worthington threw six strong innings to limit the Viking attack. Though, senior Adam Berreda did have two hits for Inglemoor.

KingCo 3A/2A Opening Night!

With the KingCo 4A already off and running, the 3A/2A conference has their opening day on Friday with a full slate of games...

Mount Si 3, Juanita 1 - Senior Zach Usselman went the distance, scattering 7 hits while striking out 6 to lead the Wildcats to a season-opening 3-1 win over Juanita. Usselman added two hits and a double, while Evan Johnson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to pace the Mount Si offense. Seven different Rebel hitters each had one hit, but they were unable to string enough together to overcome the 'Cats.

LW 7, Mercer Island 4 - Sophomore Connor Johnson was dominant on the mound and at the plate, helping the Kangs past the Islanders, 7-4. Johnson shut out MI over 5 innings, allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 7. Johnson also sparked the LW offense, leading off their four run first inning with a double and ending the night 2-for-3 with two runs scored. The Kangs jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three and held off a late Mercer Island charge for the win. Karsen Rogers finished the night 2-for-4 with a triple and Court Osborn was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI. The Islanders were paced offensively by Jacob Stenberg (2-for-3) and Aiden Plummer (1-2, double, 2 RBI).

Bellevue 10, Sammamish 0 - The Wolverines broke open a tight game with a five-run fifth inning and cruised to a season opening 10-0 win over the Totems. Cal Neely pitched a 6-inning complete game shutout, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 to earn the win. Reagan Teegarden was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and Brady Carlson and Jack Savard each drove in a pair of runs for Bellevue. Sammamish was led by Ben Friedman and Ken McCormick, who each picked up two hits in defeat.

Interlake 12, Liberty 1 - Ibrahim Mardini doubled and drove in four runs while Nate Wehner gave up a run in 5 innings of work as Interlake downed Liberty, 12-1. The Saints scored five runs in the top of the third and cruised behind Wehner to pick up the victory. Jason Sass tripled and scored three runs, while Mack was 1-for-3 with a triple and 2 RBI, pacing the Saints offense. Eddie Delgado had two of the four hits in the game for the Patriots.

Wednesday Recap

A Brief Recap of 4A Play from Wednesday - In the Crown Division, Bothell swept their divisional foes with a 4-1 win over Redmond (1-2) behind the pitching of Colby Nealy. The Cougars head into their bye with a 4-0 record. Eastlake finds themselves alone in second with a 2-1 record as they rode lefty Conner Graham's complete game shutout to a 7-0 victory over Inglemoor (1-2).

Roosevelt sits atop the Crest Division with a 4-0 record as they dropped Garfield 10-0. Newport jumped to 3-1, good for second place, with a nailbiter 2-1 win over the Skyline Spartans (2-2). Issaquah (2-2) finds their bats waking up as they outpaced Ballard (1-3), 10-5.

Friday's action is the last of divisional play before the divisions cross over to play each other on Monday. Eastlake travels to Hartman to take on Redmond at 6. Inglemoor face Woodinville at the home of the Falcons at 7. The afternoon slate of 3:30 games sees Newport travel to Garfield, Roosevelt at Issaquah, and Ballard visiting Skyline. Go check out a game.