High School
Photo Credit: Chris Flor, O'Dea Senior
In the first round of the 2012 Metro League Baseball Tournament, the O’Dea Fighting Irish squared off with the West Seattle Wildcats yesterday. Clearly O’Dea was the better team, but with West Seattle finishing higher in their division (Sound), it allowed them to snag the higher seed and home field advantage. In the end, that did not make a difference as O'Dea was in control throughout, beating West Seattle 10-0.
Entering yesterday’s game West Seattle had their “ace” and maybe the best pitcher in the Metro League, Sam Hellinger, on the mound. O’Dea had their third or fourth best pitcher, sophomore Pierre Le Dorze, on the mound. It was the complete opposite. Le Dorze looked unhittable, while Hellinger struggled early. In the second inning of the game, Le Dorze put the Irish on the board 1-0 with a single up the middle which scored teammate Sam Moran. With runners on second and third base, O’Dea’s Ryland Kerr took advantage of the situation that was given to him and drove in both runners with a single to right field, extending the Irish lead to three.
Alex Foley pitched 7 strong innings in a complete game performance, and Eastside Catholic got help from a spotty Nathan Hale defense en route to a 4-3 victory at Bannerwood Park. With the victory, the Crusaders advance to a winner-to-state game on Wednesday against O'Dea.
Aside from an early 2 RBI single, the Crusaders' two other runs came via error or wild pitch. Julijs Pruzinskis pitched 6 innings, but his command was just a bit off the entire game, allowing Eastside Catholic to score just enough to pull out a win.
Steve Cox Memorial Field (Photo Credit: Seattle Prep)
It has finally arrived, the Metro Baseball Tournament! This is only the first step towards conquering the state title. So far this season the Metro League has been dominated by one team, Seattle Prep. Can anyone take them down? Prep is the favorite to win this tournament and will be looking to capture their second consecutive Metro Championship. The winner of this event not only takes home a trophy, but earns a berth to State as the No. 1 team from the Metro League. Teams that finish in second and third place will also earn a berth to State. This is a double-elimination. Who are the sleepers? Players to watch? SeaTown Sports is here to answer those questions and preview your team’s chances of winning this tournament. Plus we predict the winner. READ OUR IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS AFTER THE JUMP!!
After getting rained out Thursday, the Puyallup Vikings and Kentwood Conquerors reconvened at Heritage Park on Saturday to square off in the crossover game featuring the two SPSL division champions. Coming into the season, the Vikings were the #1 ranked 4A team in numerous polls. But, Kentwood turned the tables over the course of the year and held the #1 ranking heading into this game. The Conquerors were undefeated, and were looking to stay that way. But in the end, Puyallup handed Kentwood their first loss of the season, as the Vikings pulled out a 5-4 win in 8 innings.
Matt Becker pitched two scoreless innings and also hit a HR to help lead the Vikings to victory over the Conquerors. Kentwood scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game, before Puyallup answered withthe eventual game-winning run in the 8th.
Mount Si head baseball coach Elliott Cribby was kind enough to pass along some tidbits about the Wildcats' end to the regular season.
With a 4-2 victory over the Interlake Saints last night, Mount Si clinched the KingCo 3A regular season championship. This is their second consecutive regular season title.
In the win, Wildcats starter Trevor Lane set a new school record with 17 strikeouts. Lane is not only doing well on the mound, he also is dominating at the plate. He currently holds a .441 BA with 8 doubles and 19 RBI.
The Wildcats' starting rotation has been strong all year. As a team, they hold a 1.40 ERA. Reece Karalus, who will be attending Santa Clara University next fall, has a 0.77 ERA with 71 strikeouts.
Cribby said the team has "answered the bell" thus far, and now they are gearing up for postseason action. The Wildcats open up KingCo postseason play as the #1 seed at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue next Thursday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Liberty vs. Mercer Island.
