Friday, April 13, 2012

Stage Set for Friday Night Lights

Both Lake Washington and Mount Si won games on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, setting up a first place battle between two 5-0 teams on Friday night. The game will be played at 7:00 PM at Lee Johnson Field. Mount Si is ranked #1 in the state, with an overall record of 10-1 while LW sports a 9-2 record heading into the contest. Should be a fun atmosphere under the lights at Peter Kirk Park.

A look at the results from the past two days of KingCo 3A play:

Liberty 5, Mercer Island 4 - The Patriots scored five runs in the first two innings and made the lead hold up, picking up their first win of the 2012 campaign, 5-4 over Mercer Island. Izak Styskal struck out 7 in a complete game effort, scattering 8 hits and a walk while throwing 102 pitches. Blake Reeve had two hits and an RBI for Liberty, while Alex Himstead was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI for MI.

LW 11, Interlake 5 - Senior Victor Mayorquin's grand slam capped a furious comeback as the Kangs rallied for an incredible 10 runs with two outs in the seventh inning to shock the Saints, 11-5. LW was held in check all afternoon by Interlake lefty Austin Strother, who left the game with 2 on and 1 out with his team leading 4-1. The Kangs kept grinding out at bats and tied the game thanks to a 2-run single by Zach Johnson and a bases loaded walk by Shawn Gray. From there, walks and hit batters extended the lead until Mayorquin's blast sealed the deal. Sam Finfer drove in three runs for the Saints, who fell to 2-3 in league play. Sophomore Jordan LaFave reached base safely in all four plate appearances for LW, who heads into Friday night's showdown with Mount Si a perfect 5-0 in league.

Bellevue 10, Juanita 0 - The Wolverines continued their stellar play, winning their fourth straight KingCo game after an opening day loss, 10-0 over Juanita. Connor Foreman and Jack Meggs each scored two runs, while Jack Carlson scored three times for Bellevue. Following a loss to Mount Si on the first day of KingCo play, Bellevue has not lost, remaining just a game back of the first place Wildcats and Kangs.


Mount Si 11, Sammamish 0 - Trevor Taylor shutout the Totems over five innings to extend the Wildcats scoreless streak to 26 innings as Mount Si topped Sammamish 11-0. The defending KingCo 3A champs have allowed just a seventh inning run to Bellevue in the league opener, sporting an incredible 0.21 ERA in five league games. Trevor Lane followed up a 4-for-4 performance on Monday with another perfect effort, going 2-for-2 with a triple, walk, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Lane is now hitting .484 on the year, and will get the ball in Friday night's showdown against 5-0 Lake Washington.

Wednesday/Thursday 4A Action

Rain forced 2 of Wednesday's 5 scheduled 4A games to be bumped to Thursday. A full recap of the five games follows:

Wednesday/Thursday 4A Recaps

Bothell 6, Issaquah 1 - Brady Mickelson worked around some control issues to allow just 1 earned run in four innings as the Cougars knocked off Issaquah Wednesday, 6-1. Zach Anderson, Rex Carlin and Jake Storer each doubled for Bothell, who pulled into a second place tie with Inglemoor just a single game behind Crown Division leading Woodinville. Issaquah falls to 3-5 with the loss and finds itself in last place in the Crest Division. However, parody reigns, with the Eagles just a single game out of second place.

Skyline 2, Garfield 1 - Skyline's Clayton Huber outdueled Garfield's John Trupin in a classic pitchers duel, as the Spartans improved to 6-2 in league play with a 2-1 win over Garfield. Skyline scored single runs in the second and third innings and made the one-run lead hold up throughout. Huber also added two hits (including a double) and an RBI, while Corbin Powers also had two hits and a run batted in. Ricky Nakamura and Derek Billey picked up two knocks each for the Bulldogs in the loss.

Redmond 5, Roosevelt 1 - Senior Peter Hendron struck out 8 batters in six shutout innings to help the Mustangs continue their resurgence with a 5-1 win over Roosevelt. Redmond has won four straight KingCo games and six straight overall since starting their season 0-7. Steven Danek, Lucas Eliason, Brent Firth and Hendron all had two hits a piece, pacing the 'Stangs 10 hit attack.

Woodinville 7, Eastlake 3 - Caleb Hamilton was 2-for-2 with a double and three RBI and Marty Luckenbach pitched six strong innings as the Falcons topped Eastlake Thursday, 7-3. The game was tied at 1 into the bottom of the fifth, when Woodinville broke through scoring four times. Eastlake responded with two in the top of the sixth, but would get no closer. Woodinville improves to 6-2 in KingCo play with the win, one full game ahead of Inglemoor in the Crown Division.

Newport 4, Ballard 2 - Senior Nate Anderson's walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh sent the Knights home victories, as they knocked off a game Beavers squad, 4-2. Anderson's HR was just the third hit of the game for Newport, who was held in check all afternoon by Ballard's Joe Jacobson. Ben Welch and Alex Stamey each had two hits for the Beavers in a losing effort.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Full Slate of KingCo Action

First off, wanted to apologize again for the lack of coverage last week on the blog. It was a crazy week and I wasn't able to keep up with all the action. Hoping to stay on top of things from here on out.

Monday was the first day of the KingCo season with a full slate of action. With both the 3A and 4A on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule this week, there will be a lot of great baseball being played! Here's a look at yesterday's results.

Monday 4A Recaps
Ballard 4, Issaquah 0
- Senior Caleb Jaeger continued his tremendous run of pitching, striking out 5 in a complete game shutout as the Beavers blanked Issaquah, 4-0. Ballard scored four runs in the second inning off Eagle starter Ethan Kalin and Jaeger did the rest, scattering four hits and a walk in his seven innings of work. Stuart MacGeorge drove in two runs and stole two bases for Ballard, who evened their KingCo record at 4-4.

Garfield 5, Newport 3 - Colin Evenson allowed just 1 earned run in six solid innings and Sam Kennard was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI as the Bulldogs knocked off the Knights, 5-3. Ricky Nakamura added three hits for Garfield, with Hayes Gorecki working a scoreless seventh for the save. Senior Jake Chinery had two hits for Newport, who struggled defensively, committing four errors on the afternoon.

Redmond 4, Bothell 0 - The Mustangs continued their resurgence, winning their third straight KingCo game 4-0 over Bothell. Adam Cline shutout the Cougars, allowing just 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out six. Conner Bozman was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Steven Danek and Patrick McGrath each doubled for the 'Stangs. Bothell saw their four-game league win streak snapped.

Inglemoor 4, Skyline 2 - Inglemoor continued its strong play, downing Crest Division leading Skyline 4-2 on Monday evening. Danny Larsen was the inning pitcher, scattering 6 hits and 3 walks in 6 solid innings. He was aided by Willie Augustavo, who accounted for all four Viking runs by scoring twice and driving in two more. Patrick Harrod and Jack Valencia each had two hits for Skyline in a losing effort. The Spartans hold a one game lead over Eastlake in the Crest Division, while Inglemoor pulled to within a half-game of Woodinville in the Crown with their fourth straight win.

E
astlake 2, Roosevelt 1 - Junior Michael Staudinger's solo home run in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and propelled Eastlake into second place in the Crest Division with a 2-1 win over Roosevelt. Starters Andrew Stull (Eastlake) and Graylin Derke (Roosevelt) both pitched well, but didn't factor into the decision. Josh Barokas worked three shutout innings in relief for the Wolves to pick up the win. Pitching was the story of the game, with the teams combining for just 6 hits on the afternoon.

Monday 3A Recaps
Mount Si 7, Liberty 0
- Santa Clara bound Reece Karalus continued the Wildcats amazing pitching run, shutting out the Patriots 7-0. Mount Si has not allowed a single run in the past 21 innings, allowing just a single run to Bellevue last Monday in their first 4 league games. Karalus allowed just 2 hits and didn't walk a single batter, needing just 79 pitches to go the distance. He was helped by fellow senior Trevor Lane, who finished the afternoon a perfect 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Ben Wessel took the loss for Liberty, who is still searching for their first league win. Mount Si improved to 4-0 in league play and will look to continue their scoreless streak when they take on Sammamish on Wednesday.

Lake Washington 13, Juanita 10 - Theo Alexander's majestic grand slam in the fifth inning gave the Kangs the lead for good, as they improved to 4-0 in KingCo play with a 13-10 win over rival Juanita. The game was a classic Peter Kirk affair, with strange bounces, key plays and a ton of offense. Alexander's big blast came one inning after Juanita's Avery Britton had cleared the bases with a three-run double to put the Rebels back on top. Zach Johnson also homered for LW, with senior Ben Ciuba working the final two innings to preserve the win. Victor Mayorquin doubled and drove in three for LW, who will take on Interlake on Wednesday. Juanita, who lost their second straight league affair, got two hit nights from senior John Robinson and sophomores Bradley Close and Andy Cosgrove.

Mercer Island 8, Interlake 4 - The Islanders responded from a tough opening week with avengance, as they used a five-run third inning to down the Saints, 8-5. Senior Hunter Goldberg was the winning pitcher, and he got help from Chris Lawler (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Matt Orehek (2-for-3, 3 RBI). Keegan Ogard and Brandon Lawler added 2 hits a piece for MI, which snapped a scoreless streak of 21 innings with the third inning 5-spot. Jake Wilson had 2 hits for Interlake, who fell to 2-2 with the loss.

Bellevue 8, Sammamish 5 - Bellevue fought back from an early deficit, scoring three times in the fifth and twice more in the sixth to topple the Totems, 8-5. Sammamish was led by the three hits of Joey Sullivan, with Paul Heywood and Ryan Hashimoto each added two hits a piece. The Wolverines win was their third straight, as they kept pace with Mount Si & Lake Washington, just one game back of the division leaders.

KingCo 3A Awards - Week 1

KingCo 3A Baseball - Players of the Week
Week 1: April 2 - 7, 2012

Player of the Week: Theo Alexander, Sr., Lake Washington
Outfielder Theo Alexander picks up the first KingCo 3A player of the week award in 2012. The senior who has committed to UC-Santa Barbara helped lead LW to a 3-0 week, going 4-for-7 with a triple, 2 home runs, 6 RBI and 5 runs scored. He also drew 4 walks, ending the week with a .727 on base percentage. Entering Monday night's contest, Alexander was slugging 1.200 on the year, with 16 RBiI and 11 runs scored in just 9 contests.

Also nominated: Daniel Besmer, Mount Si; Jack Meggs, Bellevue

Pitcher of the Week: Trevor Lane, Sr., Mount Si
Southpaw Trevor Lane was the star amongst many strong pitching performances in the first week of KingCo 3A play. The Western Nevada bound senior tossed a 1-hit shutout over Mercer Island on Wednesday, walking just 1 and striking out 10 in the process. Lane was in command all night and led a Wildcat staff that allowed just a single run in 21 innings of play. Lane has allowed just 3 runs in 18 innings this season, with an amazing 10:1 strikeout to walk ratio (30 Ks, 3 walks).

Also nominated: Reece Karalus, Mount Si; Zach Johnson, LW; Michael Raine, Bellevue

KingCo 4A Awards - Week 3

KingCo 4A Baseball - Players of the Week
Week 3: April 2 - 7, 2012

Crest Division
Player of the Week: Clayton Huber, Sr., Skyline
For many teams, offense has been hard to come by this year. Not true of the Skyline Spartans as Clayton Huber led them with his stick to a 2-0 week in Kingco play. In the two games, Huber was 5-7 with a double, a triple, and a homerun. He also drove in three while scoring two.

Pitcher of the Week: Brandon Mahovolich, Sr., Issaquah
For the second week in a row, an Issaquah pitcher garners the Crest Division’s pitcher of the week honors. This time it is staff ace, Brandon Mahovolich, for his complete game shutout of the Garfield Bulldogs. In the effort, the Gonzaga signee struck out ten without walking a single hitter.

Crown Division
Player of the Week: Willie Augustavo, Jr., Inglemoor
Junior Willie Augustavo of the Inglemoor Vikings is this week’s player of the week in the Crown Division. Augustavo had hits in all three league games and drove in two runs for Inglemoor, who went a perfect 3-0 on the week.

Pitcher of the Week: Danny Larsen, Sr., Inglemoor
Senior Danny Larsen of Inglemoor again nabs pitcher of the week honors in the Crown Division, completing the sweep of the awards for the red-hot Vikings. In his 2nd complete game of the season, Larsen threw a 3 hitter in the 3-1 Viking win over Issaquah. In striking out three and walking just one, he lowered his Kingco 4A ERA to 1.56 in three games pitched.