Thursday, April 16, 2009

Wednesday (4/15) Wrap

Wednesday's results brought some separation in the Crest Division, only to see more crowding in the Crown Division...
  • Redmond 4, Bothell 1 - It was the "sophomore show" once again for Redmond as sophs Dylan Davis and Michael Conforto played key roles in the Mustangs 4-1 win over Bothell. Davis and Conforto each homered in the game, while Davis was dominant on the mound, allowing just 1 unearned run on 2 hits in a complete game victory. Josh Bircher chipped in with two doubles for Redmond, improved to 7-2 in league play. Gene Watson had one of the two Cougar hits while Evan Hudson took the loss, which dropped Bothell into a tie for first with Lake Washington in the Crown Division.
  • Lake Washington 10, Newport 5 - Eric Folkers homered twice and drove in four runs to lead the Kangs past Newport, 10-5. The senior corner infielder hit a solo shot in the third and followed that up with a back-breaking three-run blast in the seventh which pushed LW's lead from 2 to 5. Folkers now leads the KingCo 4A conference in RBI (16) and is tied for the league lead in home runs with 4. Chris Viltz continued swinging a hot bat, finishing the day 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. For Newport, shortstop Trase Tam Sing was 3-for-3 with a double and 2 runs scored, while second baseman Brad Binder had two hits of his own. LW improves to 7-2 on the season, while Newport sees its record drop to 4-5.
  • Skyline 10, Ballard 5 - The Spartans used an eight run third to fight off an early deficit and run their win streak to seven games with a 10-5 win over the Beavers. Junior right hander Adrian Sampson struck out 12 in 6 innings of work to improve to a league-best 5-0. Skyline was led by a balanced attack which saw four players (Sean Penberthy, Shawn Ellis, Jake Knecht and Jacob Shannon) drive in 2 runs a piece. Senior shortstop Ryan Somers was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple for the Spartans, who remained a game ahead of Redmond in the Crest Division at 8-1. Connor McClure and Grady Williams each had 2 hits for Ballard, which dropped its 6th straight game.
  • Inglemoor 6, Issaquah 4 - The pitching hero a night before, sophomore Obadiah Taylor came through for Vikings with the bat on this day, leading a 13-hit attack with three of his own as Inglemoor won its second straight, 6-4 over Issaquah. Junior left-hander Spencer Trautman worked 6 innings to pick up the win, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). Sam Johnston and Scott Meyers homered for the Vikings, who improved to 5-4 with the W. For the Eagles, junior right hander Shane Yarnell suffered his first loss of the season. They were led offensively by the two hits of Devin O'Donnell.
  • Woodinville 7, Garfield 1 - Senior Shawn Murphy allowed just 6 hits and a run over 6 1/3 innings of work to lead the Falcons to the 7-1 win over Garfield at Bobby Morris Field in Seattle. Preston Longoni was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases for Woodinville, who closed to within a game of first place in the Crown Division at 6-3. Week 3 pitcher of the week Sean Gilman suffered the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing 7 runs (5 earned) in his five innings on the bump. Jack Jajewski was 2-for-3 with a double as Garfield dropped to 1-8 on the season.
  • Roosevelt 9, Eastlake 8 - The Roughriders scored four times in the top of the seventh and held on for dear life to pick up their first win of the season, 9-8 over the Wolves of Eastlake. Colin Gipner pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win, while Johnson was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI. Eastlake shortstop Nick Smith was 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI in a losing effort.

The Crest Division now has a clear cut top two teams, with second place Redmond (7-2) a full three games ahead of Issaquah and Newport (4-5). The 'Stangs trail Skyline (8-1) by just one game for first place. Meanwhile, in the Crown Division, the top four teams are separated by just two games, with Bothell and LW on top at 7-2 followed closely by Woodinville (6-3) and Inglemoor (5-4).

Friday's action features a Crest-Crown showdown, when first place Skyline travels to first place Bothell. Game time is at 6:00 at Bothell HS. Other games include Redmond @ Inglemoor, Eastlake @ Ballard, Garfield @ Roosevelt, Newport @ Woodinville and Issaquah @ Lake Washington.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tuesday (4/14) Make-ups

Tuesday's make-up games once again showed the overall competitiveness of the conference, with all five games played within four runs or less, including three games won on team's last at bats.
  • Skyline 5, Roosevelt 4 - The Spartans scored a run in the top of the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie and extend their KingCo win streak to 6 games with a 5-4 win over the Roughriders. Sean Penberthy and Ryan Somers led the Skyline attack, with Penberthy going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and Somers finishing the day a perfect 4-for-4 with 2 runs scored. Senior left-hander Blake Fulghum picked up the win in relief, helping the Spartans improve to 7-1, a full game ahead of second place Redmond. Jeff Chaney was 2-for-3 and Nick Foster was 1-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI for Roosevelt, who fell to 0-8 on the season.
  • Bothell 5, Issaquah 4 (8 inn.) - Bothell pushed across the tying run in the bottom of the seventh and the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to stun the Eagles, 5-4. Issaquah led 4-1 headed into the bottom of the fifth, but the Cougars kept pressing, scoring twice in the bottom of the fifth to set up the late game heroics. Sophomore Brian McAfee picked up his second KingCo win, working four innings out of the bullpen while striking out 5. Tyler Atkinson doubled and drove in two and Gene Watson and James Korn added two hits a piece for Bothell, who sits one game ahead of Lake Washington in the Crown division at 7-1. Brennan Miller was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and Spencer Rogers had 2 hits and 2 RBI for Issaquah, who drops to 4-4 with the loss.
  • Woodinville 7, Eastlake 6 (8 inn.) - For the fourth time this season, Woodinville walked off on an opponent at home, this time scoring a run in extra frames to top Eastlake 7-6. The Wolves jumped out to a 5-0 lead through 2 1/2 innings and maintained a large cushion until the the Falcons tied the game with 3 runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth. Devin Jones picked up the win in relief, tossing two hitless innings while striking out 2. Junior shortstop Luke Taylor was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and senior Joel Maltos was 2-for-4 with 2 runs batted in for Woodinville, who improved to 5-3 on the season. Nick Andrews and Michael Russo hit home runs for Eastlake in a losing effort.
  • Inglemoor 2, Newport 0 - One mistake decided this one, as the lone slip up by Newport senior Brandon Andreini resulted in a Trevor McMaster two-run home run in the Vikings 2-0 win over the Knights on Tuesday night. Sophomore Obadiah Taylor outdueled Andreini, scattering 7 hits in a complete game shutout to improve to 3-0 in KingCo play. Andreini allowed just 3 hits, striking out 7 in defeat. Colin Hering and Victor King had two hits each for Newport, as both teams finished the night with 4-4 records.
  • Lake Washington 4, Garfield 0 - Senior Karl Myers went the distance, allowing 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out four in the Kangs 4-0 win over Garfield. Myers improved to 2-1 in league and saw his KingCo ERA drop to 1.37 with the shutout. Four different Kangs drove in runs, while senior Chris Viltz continued his torrid pace, going 2-for-2 with a hit by pitch, upping his batting average to a league leading .542. For Garfield, Joe Lucia and James Morris-Lent each doubled in a losing cause.

Wednesday brings 5 afternoon games, with the lone evening game being a clash between 6-2 Redmond and 7-1 Bothell at Hartman Park.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Monday Washed Out

Rain continues to be a major story in this 2009 baseball season, as to this writer's knowledge, 5 of the 6 games scheduled for Monday were rained out. The lone game completed was an afternoon affair between Redmond and Ballard...
  • Redmond 5, Ballard 2 - Mac Acker allowed just 2 hits and struck out 11 in a complete game victory as the Mustangs used a 3-run sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and prevail over the Beavers, 5-2. Senior shortstop Brian Grina was 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and an RBI and sophomore Michael Conforto hit a solo home run to pace Redmond, who improved to 6-2 on the season. They now sit 1/2 game behind Skyline in the Crest Division. The loss was the fifth straight for Ballard, who dropped to 2-6 on the year.

Tuesday will undoubtedly feature a number of make-up games. As of the time of this post, the confirmed makeups for today are as follows:

  • Garfield (1-6) at Lake Washington (5-2), 4:00 pm
  • Issaquah (4-3) at Bothell (6-1), 6:00 pm
  • Newport (4-3) at Inglemoor (3-4), 7:00 pm

Other games that may be scheduled for today include Skyline (6-1) @ Roosevelt (0-7) and Eastlake (2-5) at Woodinville (4-3).

Monday, April 13, 2009

Week 3 KingCo 4A Players of the Week

KingCo 4A Baseball - Players of the Week
Week 3: April 6 - 11, 2009

Crest Division
Player of the Week: Miles Perkins, Sr., Issaquah
Perkins, a senior outfielder for the Eagles, returned from a rib injury to earn Player of the Week honors in week 3. Miles finished the week 5-for-8 with a double and 2 RBI in leading Issaquah to a perfect 2-0 week in KingCo play. He joins fellow Eagles outfielder Spencer Rogers (week 1) in picking up player of the week hardware in 2009. For the season, Perkins is batting .435 with a double, 4 runs scored and 2 RBI.

Also nominated: None

Pitcher of the Week: Sean Gilman, Sr., Garfield
Gilman, a senior pitcher for the Bulldogs, wins this week's Crest Division Pitcher of the Week award based on a stellar performance last Thursday against Inglemoor. The left-hander went the distance in Garfield's first KingCo win of the season, allowing just six hits and a walk while striking out 7. He also finished the day 2-for-3 with 4 RBI, helping himself in the victory. For the season, Gilman is 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA, striking out 32 batters in 28 innings of work.

Also nominated: Shane Yarnell, Issaquah

Crown Division
Player of the Week: Chris Viltz, Sr., Lake Washington
Kangs right fielder Chris Viltz is the Week 3 Crown Division Player of the Week based on his outstanding performance last week. The LW senior finished the week 5-for-8 with two doubles, a home run, 4 walks, 4 runs scored and 5 RBI. He had an extra base hit in each of the three Lake Washington games last week, including a three-run home run on Thursday against Eastlake. Viltz reached base safely in nine of his twelve plate appearances and also stole his seventh base of the season. For the year, Viltz leads KingCo 4A with a .500 batting average in league play and is third in on-base percentage (.607), slugging percentage (.773) and RBI (10).

Also nominated: Eric Folkers, Lake Washington

Pitcher of the Week: Nick Palewicz, Sr., Ballard
Senior right-hander Nick Palewicz is the Week 3 Crown Division Pitcher of the Week, winning the award for the second time in three weeks. Palewicz earns the honors this week based on his strong performance in a loss against Issaquah. The Beaver pitcher went the distance, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs (1 earned), striking out 4 against no walks. For the season, the University of Washington signee is 1-1 with a 2.10 ERA, with just 5 walks and 22 punchouts in 20 innings of work.

Also nominated: Brett DeRooy, Woodinville