The Valley will be represented in a major youth golf tournament this summer, plus the Friday diamond cuts…….

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Good Friday morning. We’ll have diamond cuts in a moment, but we first have some huge news from the links.

Mount Si High School golfer Drew Warford became the first Wildcat, and likely first Valley teen, ever to punch a ticket to his sport’s biggest stage on Wednesday – their national championship tournament.

Warford fired a two-under par 70 to beat four others by one stroke and take the sectional qualifying tournament for the U.S. boys Junior Amateur tournament, being held at the par-72 Gold Mountain Golf Course outside of Bremerton in Kitsap County. This accomplishment continues a string of tremendous accomplishments for the Snoqualmie teen, who just won the WIAA’s 4A state high school boys’ golf tournament at the end of May and also won both the Washington Junior Golf Association boys’ junior championship and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s boys’ junior regional championship last summer.

The round started out not so well for Warford, as he bogeyed the first hole, but birdied the second and from there, played a smart, focused round with no major swings of note on the scorecard. More on his win here.

With the win, Warford will head back to New Jersey next month and represent his community at the U.S. Junior Amateur, to be held at the legendary Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, NJ, and to be televised by FOX Sports as part of their broadcast contract with the United States Golf Association, which will be conducting this championship tournament. When we get word on when those broadcasts will air, we’ll let you know. In addition, we’re going to send out a couple of notes this morning to get some additional comment for you on this big piece of news regarding our 2018 SVSJ Mount Si High School boys’ Athlete of the Year. Congratulations, Drew, and good luck back in Jersey as you represent our community in this prestigious event.

Now to the diamond. Youth scores from Gamechanger and the Gamechanger app, available on Apple IPhones and IPads in their app store.

Youth Baseball
Seattle Gladiators 18U 11, Boys of Summer 18U White 6: The Gladiators used a six-run sixth inning to help themselves rally from an early deficit to steal the win at Enumclaw High School over the Bellevue-based Boys. Several players with ties to Mount Si High School played in the game. For the Gladiators, Frankie Cepeda led the local delegation, going 2-4 with a run scored and RBI, and he was aided by Connor Webb, who went 1-3 with a walk, run scored and RBI. Fellow ‘Cat Austin Oberg went 0-4 with an RBI as well for SG. 2018 Wildcat alum Trace Halvorson went 1-2 with an RBI pacing Boys.

WW Sweets 14U 2, Northwest Naturals 15U 1: The two Sammamish-based teams played a tight one last night on the Plateau at Eastlake High School, with the Sweets posting the win aided by future Mount Si’er Aidan Dougherty, who went 1-2 with an RBI. MSHS player Cole Norah paced the Naturals, going 1-3, and fellow Wildcat Dawson Schneider went 0-3 at the plate, and also took the loss on the mound for NWN despite a solid five innings of work, in which he allowed a run on just four hits, walking two and striking out one.

Bellevue Dragons 14U Green 5, FCA Cards 2: Valleyites guided the Dragons to the win last night over the Woodinville-based team at Bothell High School. Hayden Weaver pitched a strong complete game effort, allowing two runs on six hits over his seven innings of work, walking two and striking out seven for BDG, and Luke Richter led the Dragons, going 3-3 with a run scored and RBI. Other locals also delivered too for BDG. J.T. DeRouen doubled and scored a run, Weaver offensively had a hit as well, and Ryan Llewellyn went 1-4 with a run. Rounding it out, Brady Hossfeld went 0-3 with a walk and Chris Jarocki went 0-1. All are future Mount Si High School freshmen.

Bellevue Dragons 18U Elite 5, Avengers 2: BDE posted a win last night down in Enumclaw backed by Mount Si’s Harrison Clark, who went 1-2 with a walk and an RBI. Fellow Wildcat Troy Baunsgard aided the efforts as well for the Dragons, going 0-1 with a walk and run scored.

Palouse Patriots 9, Washington A’s 18U Gold 8: The Sammamish-based A’s ended up on the short end of a wild one last night in Pullman over at this weekend’s Palouse Summer Series event. 2018 MSHS grad Will Scott went 1-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI for the A’s while fellow 2018 ‘Cat alum Tank Brewster went 0-3 with a walk. 2017 MSHS’er Nick Solomon also pitched for the A’s allowing a hit and striking out one in 1/3 inning of work. He received no decision.

Tacoma Tugs Premier 21, Seattle Gladiators 15U 2: Last night in Kent was one to forget for the Gladiators, as they were held to one hit and committed eight errors in the blowout loss. Mount Si players Ryan and Scott Harris, Jack Phillips, Jake Marzetti and Daniel Yurkanin all played in the contest for the Gladiators, with Ryan Harris starting on the mound and taking the loss despite allowing just four earned runs in his 2 2/3 innings of work.

Boys of Summer 15U 5, City Baseball Gold 4: Bellevue-based Boys held off the Seattle-based opposition at Island Crest Park on Mercer Island last night. Mount Si’s Turner McCutchan went 0-1 for BoS, but walked once and scored a run.

Michael’s Toyota 16U 6, Bellevue Dragons 2: The two Bellevue-based squads took on one another at Marymoor Park under the lights last night in Redmond, with Michael’s posting the win aided some by Mount Si’s Parker Wutherich, who went 0-3 but reached on an error and scored a run.

Rippers 15U Black 12, JBC Prep Sportswear 15U 2: The Redmond-based Rippers broke open a close one in the fourth, scoring 11 runs to turn it into a rout at Lee Johnson Field in Kirkland. Cedarcrest’s Mason Pudwill went 0-1 for the Rippers, while ex-Mount Si player Jake Mitton did not play for JBCPS in the contest.

College Summer Baseball
Bears blown out: In Pacific International League action last night, the Highline Bears were held to four hits in an 11-0 home loss at Steve Cox Park in White Center (southwest Seattle) to the visiting Seattle Cheney Studs. Duvall’s Blaine Wagner, a 2016 Cedarcrest HS grad who catches for Seattle University now, caught last night’s game late and went 0-1 for the Bears. He has also played outfield for Highline this summer.

Wenatchee falls at home: In the West Coast League, the Wenatchee AppleSox took one on the chin last night, falling at home to Walla Walla 10-4 at Wenatchee Valley College. North Bend’s Mason Marenco, he a 2017 Mount Si HS grad who plays for Gonzaga University now, went 0-4 for the Sox and now is hitting .319 on the summer for Wenatchee, who is in last place in the league’s North Division after last night’s loss.

Portland sweeps city rivalry series with Gresham: The WCL’s Pickles won a 12-1 blowout over the independent (and ex-WCL team) Gresham Grey Wolves last night sweeping the midweek non-conference Rose City rivalry series at Lents Park in Portland. North Bend’s Carson Breshears was hit by a pitch in his lone plate appearance for Portland in the contest. He is a 2014 Mount Si HS grad and plays for Gonzaga.

Valley college players with expanded summer opportunities next season?: The WCL yesterday announced an expansion franchise that could give Valley players – plus many others in college around the region – an expanded opportunity to play summer baseball in the area. The league awarded the new team to Clark County, in southwest Washington, and they will be playing in a stadium that is currently being constructed as the primary field in a multi-sport athletic complex being built near Ridgefield, in the north part of the county off I-5. The team, yet to be named, is likely to be in the league’s South Division, and will allow the league to have two even six-team divisions, helping in scheduling in the future.

Pros
Karalus shuts down some Cards: In the minor leagues last night, the Charlotte Stone Crabs went across to the east coast of Florida and blasted the Palm Beach Cardinals 10-1 in a Florida State League “advanced A” class game. North Bend’s Reece Karalus worked an inning for the Tampa Bay Rays-affiliated Stone Crabs, allowing a hit and striking out one. The 2012 Mount Si HS grad received no decision as Charlotte took out the St. Louis Cardinals-affiliated squad.

Posted in College Sports, On the Diamond, On the Links | Leave a comment

Another round of diamond cuts and pitch action on this Thursday

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Good Thursday morning. We hit the pitch to start the morning and look at the final day yesterday of the US Youth Soccer FarWest regionals down in Honolulu, where a pair of teams from Preston-based Eastside FC featuring local players advanced into playoff rounds starting tomorrow while two other squads saw their tournaments come to a close. Scores and highlights now:

Eastside FC ’00 Red boys 18U 3, Surf Hawaii 0: Mount Si’s Jared Davies put the icing on the cake for Eastside, with a 79th-minute tally helping EFC finish tied for first in its pool in the 18U age bracket and sending them to the playoffs starting tomorrow. Their first game in the single-elimination playoffs will take place against the Santa Clara Sporting Green from northern California, who finished with the same pool record as Eastside – two wins and a tie. Also on the team are Cedarcrest goalie Connor McCabe, who recorded the shutout in goal, fellow Red Wolve Caleb Chung and Mount Si’s Mateo DiDomenico.

Eastside FC boys’ 15U 2, Tanque Verde ’03 Blue (Tucson) 1: Mount Si’s Sullivan “Sully” Smith scored the game-winner for EFC in their tournament finale; the goal capped a two-goal in five-minute onslaught midway through the second half which helped Eastside go out on a strong note, as they had come into yesterday’s game as we mentioned for you yesterday having been eliminated from playoff contention after a pair of losses Monday and Tuesday to start the tournament.

Arizona Arsenal ’03 Premier 1, Eastside FC ’03 Reign Academy girls’ 15U 0: Their second straight 1-0 loss in the tournament knocked the lone EFC girls’ team of the four we’ve been following this week out of the event; this club features Cedarcrest’s Grace McKenzie.

Eastside FC ’01 Red 17U boys 1, Santa Barbara SC 1: A late goal by Eastside player Dillon Sturm in the 85th minute proved to be huge, as it allowed EFC to grab an all-important point for the tie and send them to the playoffs. This squad features Mount Si’s Jake Jimenez, and they finished second in their pool in the 17U age group. Their first playoff game is tomorrow in the single-elimination playoffs, against HSC Bulls from Hawaii, who went 2-0-1 in pool play and won their four-team bracket.

To the diamond now.

Youth baseball
The youth scores from last night are from Gamechanger and the Gamechanger app, available on Apple IPhones and IPads in their app store.

Bellevue Dragons 14U Green 6, Northwest Naturals 14U 5: Valley players aided the Dragons’ six-run fourth-inning explosion which propelled them to the victory at Marymoor Park in Redmond over the Sammamish-based Naturals. Brady Hossfeld led the local delegation on the Bellevue-based team, going 2-3 with a run scored and RBI pacing the victors, and he was helped by both J.T. DeRouen and Hayden Weaver, each of whom had a hit, scored a run and drove in a second. Weaver also recorded a walk, as did Ryan Llewellyn and Chris Jarocki (who also scored a run), and rounding out the BDG Valley contingent, Luke Richter was 0-2 but walked twice and drove in a run.

WW Sweets 14U 14, Bellevue Baseball Club 15U 0: Sweets pitchers Will Woodward and Parker Berrysmith combined on a no-hitter for the Sammamish team as they routed host BBC at Bellevue High School. The efforts of the two hurlers were aided at the plate by future MSHS player Aidan Dougherty, who doubled, walked twice, scored three runs and drove in another as Sweets continued its onslaught this summer – they are now 32-7 on the season and have scored 36 runs in their last three games.

City Baseball Green 6, Michael’s Toyota 16U 4: Seattle-based City outslugged the visiting Bellevue-based team last night at Whitman Middle School in northwest Seattle’s Ballard area. Mount Si’s Parker Wutherich went 0-1 for Michael’s in the contest.

Field of Champions Bears 15U Blue 1, City Baseball Navy 0: Mount Si’s Kevin Corder went 2-3 with the game’s lone run for Preston-based FoC, and their pitcher Sam Coomes did the rest, firing a complete-game three-hitter striking out two as the Bears won the pitcher’s duel at Skyline High School in Sammamish over the visitors from Seattle. Corder’s fellow Wildcat teammate Andrew Edson went 1-3 with a double for FoC.

College Summer Baseball
CHS alum Davenport slams door in Portland debut: It seems like it’s been a long time since Cedarcrest Red Wolve alum Adam Davenport has seen meaningful action in a game on the mound (his mom might be able to tell us more, so Sue, if you can chime in, please do so), but the wait proved to be well worth it for him. He made his summer debut for the West Coast League’s Portland Pickles last night, and let’s just say he graded A-plus.

He pitched an inning and struck out all three hitters he faced as Portland won the middle game of their Rose City rivalry series with the independent Gresham Grey Wolves 7-0 in a non-conference battle last night at Lents Park in Portland. Mount Si alum Carson Breshears, from North Bend, got the night off for the Pickles in this one after having a solid start to his season. Davenport is a 2014 CHS’er who plays at the University of Washington while Breshears also graduated in 2014 and is playing for Gonzaga.

Speaking of which, Breshears’ fellow Bulldog teammate and ex-Wildcat Mason Marenco, also from North Bend, also got the night off last night for Wenatchee in their WCL game with Walla Walla, a game won by the host AppleSox 3-1 at Wenatchee Valley College.

Bears fall on road: In Pacific International League action last night in Tacoma, the Seattle Cheney Studs handled the Highline Bears 4-1 at the University of Puget Sound. Seattle University’s Blaine Wagner, from Duvall and a fellow 2016 CHS alum, went 0-3 with a run scored for Highline in the contest. He normally is a catcher for the Redhawks, but has been an outfielder for the Bears this summer. He started and played right field for Highline in last night’s game.

Mallot on hill in GWL game: Wagner’s fellow Cedarcrest alum Riley Mallot, from Duvall and a pitcher for Columbia Basin College in Pasco, got the start last night for the Great West League’s San Francisco Seals in their game against the Yuba Sutter Gold Sox in northern California. Mallot was dinged up a bit, allowing five runs on six hits, walking six and striking out three, dropping to 0-2 on the summer as the Seals fell on the road to the Gold Sox 10-6.

North Bender makes Northwoods debut: Wagner’s Seattle U. teammate and fellow Valleyite Alden Huschle, from North Bend and a 2016 Mount Si HS grad, made his debut last night in the Northwoods League, pitching an inning for the Mankato MoonDogs in their game with the St. Cloud Rox in Minnesota. The Rox won it at home in St. Cloud 8-4, but Huschle’s one inning proved to be anti-climactic, as he did not have any stats of note recorded in the frame. He received no decision. Huschle recently signed with the MoonDogs for this summer after spending last summer in the Alaska Baseball League with a team in Anchorage.

Pro baseball
Karalus struggles and is lifted quickly: North Bend’s Reece Karalus ran into a little trouble last night for the Charlotte Stone Crabs in their Florida State League “advanced A” minor-league game with the Lakeland Flying Tigers at home in Port Charlotte, FL. Karalus, a 2012 MSHS grad, came in to pitch to three hitters in the eighth inning, and proceeded to allow a hit and walk the two others he faced, with two of those guys scoring runs, of which one was earned. He did not record an out and saw his ERA rise to 3.68, but he fortunately recorded no decision as Charlotte responded with runs to force extras and won it in 11 6-5. The Stone Crabs are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays and Lakeland is affiliated with the Detroit Tigers.

Posted in On the Diamond, Soccer | Leave a comment

From the pitch and the diamond on this hump day Wednesday

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Good Wednesday morning. Time now for our news this morning, and we begin yet again on the pitch with news on the four Eastside FC club soccer teams, all based in Preston, with Valley players competing at the US Youth Soccer Far West regional championship tournament down in Honolulu. Three of the teams head into today’s final day of first-round pool play with shots to advance into the playoffs.

Eastside FC ’01 Red boys 17U 2, Legacy (AZ) 1: Mount Si’s Jake Jimenez became the first Valley player to score in this regional championship in 2018, pocketing the opening goal in the 30th minute for Eastside as they needed a late tally in the second half to break a 1-1 tie and put themselves in good shape to go to the playoffs. A win or a tie against a California team today will send them to the elimination rounds starting tomorrow.

Beach FC 1, Eastside FC ’03 Reign Academy Two girls’ 15U 0: The girls’ squad, with Cedarcrest’s Grace McKenzie, allowed a lone second-half tally to the Beach team giving the California squad the win. Eastside still is alive to go to the playoffs, but they have to beat an Arizona team today and hope for a loss or tie by the Utah team EFC tied on Monday today against this Beach club.

Eastside FC ’00 Red 18U boys 2, Pride Predators (CO) 1: Eastside scored two goals in the first half, and held on despite a late push by the Colorado team to put themselves in prime position to go to the playoffs. Eastisde plays pool cellar-dweller Surf Hawaii today, and a win or tie should put them into the playoffs provided the Predators don’t beat the California team that Eastside tied on Monday. This squad features several players from both Mount Si and Cedarcrest High Schools, among them Jared Davies (MSHS) and Connor McCabe (CHS).

Las Vegas Silver 2, Eastside FC boys’ 15U 0: EFC’s playoff hopes ended with this shutout loss to the Nevada foe yesterday. This team features Mount Si’s Sullivan Smith, and they will wrap up play today.

Baseball
Now to the diamond and our youth baseball action from last night, from Gamechanger and the Gamechanger app, available on Apple IPhones and IPads in their app store.

Washington A’s 18U Gold 7, Diamond Sports 1: In Kent last night, Mount Si High School grad Will Scott got the job done for the Sammamish-based A’s in their win down in Kent. He went 2-4 at the plate with a double and three RBI’s, and he also pitched an inning of relief, walking one and striking out one while receiving no decision.

FCA Cards 7, Bellevue Dragons 18U Elite 6: The Woodinville-based Cardinals held off the Bellevue-based Dragons last night at Marymoor Park in Redmond, despite the efforts of Mount Si’s Troy Baunsgard. He doubled, part of a 2-3 effort that also saw him walk once, score a run and drive in two more for BDE. Fellow Wildcat Harrison Clark went 0-2 as well for the Dragons.

Boys of Summer 3, Rippers 16U 2: Bellevue-based Boys rallied with two in the bottom of the seventh to steal the win from the Redmond-based Rippers at Island Crest Park on Mercer Island. Cedarcrest’s Gavin McDermott went 0-2 with a walk and RBI for the Rippers, while teammate and fellow Red Wolve Curt Nelson went 0-4.

Field of Champions Bears 14U Blue 8, Rock Creek 3: The Preston-based Bears got a solid outing on the mound from future Mount Si’er Quin Patterson in their home win last night over the Ravensdale-based visitors. Patterson allowed just one hit and struck out four in four innings of work, and fellow future ‘Cat Caleb Brown finished it off, allowing three runs, one earned, over the final three innings on four hits, walking two. Patterson, who went 0-2 at the plate, picked up the win. A third Valleyite, Caden Harris, aided the winning efforts, going 1-2 with a run scored and two RBI’s for FoC, and Brown, despite going 0-3, walked once and scored a run. Fellow local Blake Miller as well pitched in for the Bears, going 0-1 with a walk, run scored and an RBI. FoC scored six first-inning runs and cruised from there for the win.

Rippers 15U Black 6, Bellevue Baseball Club 4 (8): The Redmond-based squad broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the extra eighth frame to score the win at Redmond High School. Cedarcrest’s Mason Pudwill went 1-4 for the Rippers in this one.

Boys of Summer 15U 6, Kirkland Merchants 3: Bellevue-based Boys doubled up the Kirkland squad up at Inglemoor High School in Kenmore last night with the help of Mount Si’s Turner McCutchan. He picked up the win on the hill for BoS, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits in 3 1/3 innings, walking five and striking out one.

Field of Champions Bears 14U Black 11, City Baseball 14U Gold 1: Valley players aided the rout by the Preston-based Bears over their Seattle-based rivals last night at Skyline High School in Sammamish. Harrison Kelly went 2-2 with a walk, run scored and RBI while Drew Hiddleson went 1-1 with a run. Ryan Gerlitz also pitched in for FoC, going 1-2 with a walk and run scored.

City Baseball 15U Gold 12, Seattle Gladiators 15U 3: The Gladiators scored all of their runs in the third, while Seattle-based City scored runs in all of the other innings that were contested in last night’s game at Southeast Athletic Complex in Seattle, giving CBG the win. Mount Si’s Jack Phillips led the Valley contingent, going 1-3 with a run. Fellow Wildcats Scott and Ryan Harris, Tom Parker and Jake Marzetti also played in the contest for the Gladiators.

College Summer Baseball
Action from the West Coast League last night involving locals.

Bellingham holds off Cowlitz: The Bells handled the Cowlitz Black Bears 6-4 last night down in Longview. Cowlitz’ Isaac Mullins, from North Bend, saw work in the contest on the hill, striking out one in one inning of work and dropping his ERA down to 1.17 as he is developing into one of the top relievers in the league this summer. He is among the league leaders in saves with four already this summer for Cowlitz. He is a 2015 Mount Si HS grad and will be entering his junior season this fall with Washington State University.

Another loss for Wenatchee: The AppleSox’s struggles continued last night, as they fell to Walla Walla 7-3 at home on the campus of Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee. North Bend’s Mason Marenco went 1-3 with a run for Wenatchee, with his average now sitting at .349 after last night’s efforts. He is a 2017 MSHS’er and just finished his redshirt season as a freshman for Gonzaga University. He will be a full-fledged frosh this fall for the Bulldogs baseball team but a sophomore academically.

Breshears double lifts Pickles to win in Rose City rivalry clash: North Bend’s Carson Breshears went 2-2 with a double, run scored and three RBI’s for the WCL’s Portland Pickles as they exploded for a 9-4 win in round one of the midweek non-conference city rivalry series with the non-conference foe Gresham Grey Wolves. Breshears, who will be a senior this fall at Gonzaga, graduated from Mount Si in 2014. The two teams meet again tonight to wrap up the two-game set. Gresham this season is playing as an independent after playing last summer in the WCL; the Pickles replaced the Grey Wolves for this summer as the Portland representative in the league, which is based in the Rose City and is now led by new commissioner Rob Neyer, a former ESPN baseball writer and personality.

Pro Baseball
Lane does well, but does not get the result he wanted: It was a good outing last night for North Bend’s Trevor Lane on the mound for the minor-league Tampa Tarpons. The 2012 Mount Si High School grad allowed a run on four hits, striking out three. That one run turned out to be the game-winning run, however, for the opposing Fort Myers Miracle, and the Minnesota Twins affiliate beat the New York Yankees-affiliated Tarpons 8-7 in the Florida State League class “advanced A” game. Lane’s ERA improved to 3.90 with the efforts last night. Of note as well is that the Miracle for the past few games have been enjoying the services of Twins third baseman Miguel Sano, as he was sent down to Fort Myers last week by his major league team to work on improving his batting; he has been struggling with the big club this season. Sano did not play in last night’s contest.

“Kimbo” faces ex-big leaguer: We on Sunday told you about the quality outing that 2010 Mount Si High School grad Josh Kimborowicz delivered on the hill for the Frontier League independent River City Rascals Saturday night in their game with the Lake Erie Crushers in the western suburbs of Cleveland, OH. What we did not know, however, was that he faced a former Cleveland Indian in the contest, not once or twice, but three times.

It was mentioned Monday in the Indians’ radio broadcast, then confirmed by the SVSJ through some quick research, that ex-Indians slugger Travis Hafner suited up for Lake Erie for the game. And it started out well for Kimborowicz, as he struck out the former big leaguer, who last played in MLB several years ago, in the first inning. Hafner, however, reached the other two times he faced the Valleyite, first on an error by Kimborowicz then again later in the game on a walk. Still, though, Kimborowicz weathered all of that and put together the solid outing as we previously noted. Despite all that, River City fell in the game 3-0. “Kimbo” is set to take the hill again Friday night.

Posted in College Sports, On the Diamond, Soccer | Leave a comment

Tuesday delivers some action from the pitch and the diamond for you……

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Rhett Workman

Good Tuesday morning. We hit the pitch this morning where four teams from the Eastside FC soccer club featuring Valley high school soccer players are waking up this morning down in Honolulu at the US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championship tournament. The first day of play was yesterday, and this event will run all week and we’ll have full coverage. Here’s how the local teams all fared in their opening day of pool play yesterday. All of the teams likely need wins today to put themselves in position by the way based on yesterday’s results for playoff action later this week.

Eastside FC ’00 Red 18U boys 1, South Bay Strikers 1: Preston-based Eastside, with several Valley players including Cedarcrest’s Caleb Chung and Connor McCabe, along with Mount Si’s Jared Davies and Mateo DiDomenico, drew in their first match with a team from southern California.

Eastside FC ’03 Reign Academy Two 15U girls 1, Santa Clara Sporting Green ’03 1: This EFC girls’ rep features Cedarcrest’s Grace McKenzie and they exchanged goals with their northern California opponents late in this one to grab the draw.

Eastside FC ’01 Red 17U boys 2, Sparta Premier 2: This Eastside team also has Valley representation on it – Mount Si’s Jake Jimenez – and they, too, drew in their opening match, this against a team from Utah.

La Roca 2, Eastside FC ’03 15U boys 0: This Eastside club, with Mount Si’s freshman varsity star Sullivan “Sully” Smith, was blanked in their opener by the Salt Lake-area squad.

Also from the pitch:

Mount Si alums recognized for academic success: The US Youth Soccer tournament this week is being played at the Waipio Soccer Complex there on the island of Oahu, and that served as a home this past season for the Hawaii Pacific University women’s soccer team. A number of their athletes, including one from the Valley, were recognized for their hard work in the classroom.

Sophomore starting defender Camryn Buck, from Ames Lake and a 2016 Mount Si High School grad, was among 16 Shark players recognized on the All-PacWest Academic Honor Roll for the 2017-18 school year, as announced yesterday afternoon by the PacWest conference office in southern California. Buck, who finished the year with a 3.88 grade point average, is majoring in business administration at the Kaneohe, HI, campus, and was among 126 athletes from the university and over 1,800 from around the NCAA Division II conference’s member schools in Hawaii, California and Utah, including a second Valleyite, who were recognized.

The second local was Azusa Pacific senior women’s soccer defender Kelsey Lindor, from Snoqualmie and a 2014 Mount Si alum. She finished with a 3.34 grade point average at the Los Angeles-area campus and graduated with a degree in business marketing.

Both of the ex-Wildcats, along with the rest of the athletes recognized had to earn better than a 3.0 grade point average and played in their team’s games this past season. A congrats to both young ladies from the SVSJ, as we note two additional examples for you of how well Mount Si High School is preparing its students for college academics.

Baseball: Mount Si alum tears it up in college summer game, but his team falls
From baseball this morning, and we have some news about Mount Si grad Mason Marenco.

Marenco has been in a bit of a slump offensively for the college summer West Coast League’s Wenatchee AppleSox the past few games after a strong start, and that slump saw his average slip to .286 going into last night’s game with Kelowna. Well, he broke out of it in a big way against the Falcons, but the visitors had the last laugh and held on for the win.

Marenco, from North Bend and who just finished a redshirt season as a freshman at Gonzaga, went 4-5 with two runs scored for the Sox but Wenatchee fell at home at Wenatchee Valley College 9-6 to the Falcons. Wenatchee was down 9-3 into the bottom of the ninth but scored three to make things interesting in that inning. They could get no closer however as they dropped to 4-7 on the WCL season and are now in last place in the league’s North Division after last night’s loss, four games back of leader Bellingham. Marenco, who graduated from Mount Si last year, saw his average spike back up to .350 with last night’s performance.

Wenatchee is home tonight to host the Walla Walla Sweets at 7:05. You can listen live by accessing the link to Sunny FM we have for you in our college summer page at the top of this home page.

We should also mention that Valleyite Carson Breshears and his Portland Pickles were off last night, but they resume play tonight hosting non-conference foe Gresham. The Pickles replaced the Grey Wolves this year as the Rose City representative in the Portland-based WCL, which now is being helmed by new commissioner Rob Neyer, a former ESPN personality.

Karlaus with another solid performance in minors: North Bend’s Reece Karalus seems to be getting in a nice groove with the Charlotte Stone Crabs, affiliated with Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays in the minor-league “advanced A” Florida State League. Karalus pitched two good innings last night and helped his Stone Crabs outlast the Detroit Tiger-affiliated Lakeland Flying Tigers in extra frames.

Karalus, a 2012 Mount Si HS grad, allowed a run on two hits, the run allowed on a solo homer to Lakeland’s Anthony Pereira which could have given the Valleyite the loss if it weren’t for Charlotte tying it with a run in the ninth to force extra frames, and struck out two as the Stone Crabs won it in 11 5-4 over the Flying Tigers.

He’s only allowed three earned runs in the past four outings, totaling around 10 innings, with three walks and eight strikeouts, and now boasts a 3.07 earned run average with Charlotte, and an overall 3.63 this season split between there and the Rays’ “AA” team in Montgomery, AL, where he struggled earlier this spring. Seems to be on a nice path perhaps to be given another shot with the Biscuits, that “AA” team, but we’ll have to see down the road.

To our youth scoreboard now, with scores and highlights from Gamechanger and the Gamechanger app, available on Apple IPhones and IPads in their app store.

Boys of Summer 14, Seattle Gladiators 16U 6 (game one, doubleheader): Bellevue-based Boys rolled in the first of two at Southeast Athletic Complex in Seattle. Mount Si’s Mason Gronewald went 0-3 with a walk at the plate for the Gladiators, and he also pitched, too, working an inning of relief and allowing six runs, four earned, on four hits, walking three and striking out one with no decision recorded. Fellow Wildcat Jack Dougherty also went 0-3 for SG.

Northwest Naturals 16U 16, Rippers 16U 1: A 13-run sixth, yes 13 runs in the frame, blew open what had been a fairly competitive contest between the two Eastside rivals at Hartman Park in Redmond and propelled the Sammamish-based Nats to the win. Mount Si’s Cam Ferreri went 2-2 with a double and two runs scored for NWN and fellow Wildcat Jack Mardon went 1-4 with a run. Cedarcrest’s Gavin McDermott and Curt Nelson both went 0-3 for the Redmond-based Rippers.

Boys of Summer 19, Seattle Gladiators 16U 0 (game two, doubleheader): BoS’s bats continued on fire in the nightcap as they rolled to a doubleheader sweep and on top of that, three of their pitchers combined on a no-hitter. Gronewald, Dougherty and Tom Phillips all repped the Valley in this one for the Gladiators.

Field of Champions Bears 14U Black 6, Northwest Bandits Blue 1: Future Wildcat Harrison Kelly went 1-3 with a run scored pacing the Preston-based Bears to the win at Skyline High School in Sammamish. Fellow future ‘Cat Ryan Gerlitz was 0-1 for FoC but walked twice and scored a run.

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The rest of the wrap…..

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Rhett Workman

The rest of the action now and we start with a wrapup from the Valley Invitational tournament, where a pair of 18U teams with local players won tournament titles yesterday. Here’s a wrapup.

Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 9, Vancouver Patriots 1: A real busy Father’s Day for the Puyallup-based team yesterday started with a breakfast blowout of the Clark County team. Cedarcrest’s Michaela Carter went 0-1 for WLH.

White Rock Renegades 8, Elite Diamonds 16U 7: The Canadians scored a pair of runs in the sixth to overcome a big rally midway through by the Diamonds, who themselves overcame a 6-0 deficit early to take a lead in the fourth inning of this one. CHS’ Kenzie Brown went 0-2 for the Redmond-based Diamonds.

Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 6, Washington Ladyhawks Fulmore 1: Miller’s team scored four in the fifth to seal the win against their organization-mates in the second game of the day for the local team. Carter went 1-2 with two walks and a run scored for Miller.

Inland Empire Dynasty 8, Elite Diamonds 16U 7: The two teams exchanged big innings in the sixth, with the Diamonds scoring six in their half of the frame to take the lead before the southern California ladies responded with four in their half to tie things to the seventh, where the Dynasty won it on a walk-off. Brown went 1-2 with a run for the Diamonds.

Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 8, Bat Company 16U 0: Carter went 2-2 with a double, run scored and RBI for the Hawks in their shutout of the Oregon team in game three on Father’s Day as they advanced in the playoffs.

18U “Lower Gold” Semis-Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 7, Easton Westside 0: Another 2-2 effort from the CHS senior-to-be with a run scored lifted the Hawks into the title game last night in their playoff bracket.

18U “Lower Gold” Finals-Washington Ladyhawks 18U Gold Miller 5, Northwest Thunder 1: Carter had another hit as the Hawks won the Valley Invite title beating a team from southwest Washington.

Elsewhere: The Northwest Batbusters’ 18U Seek team also won a title at the Valley tournament yesterday, beating an Oregon team to take the 18U Upper Division Gold bracket crown. That squad, from Snohomish, features Mount Si grad Lauren Wilbourne and Cedarcrest grad Elaine Townley. Auburn-based Washington Acers 18U Anderton and 16U Orange teams, however, both suffered early losses yesterday ending their tournaments. Anderton, with MSHS grad Grace Lis, fell to a Montana team while Orange, with MSHS junior-to-be Hope Bostick, fell to the Everett-based Northwest Sidewinders.

Also from softball:

Bellevue Blast ’03 14U 11, Rijo 3: The Blast rolled to the win in their playoff opener at the ASA Seattle 14U metro fastpitch tournament in Kent. Mount Si’s Ginger Harris went 0-2 with a walk for the Blast. She did not play for the Bellevue team in their second game of the day, an 8-7 walkoff loss to Seattle Fastpitch Club, knocking them out of the tournament.

Seattle team with CHS freshman-to-be advances to nationals despite loss in final game: Team Seattle 14U, with future Red Wolve Kat Townley, locked up a berth to the Premier Girls’ Fastpitch nationals later this summer after finishing as a runner-up in their tournament playoff bracket at a national qualifier in Peoria, IL.

TS fell in their loser-out final to the Midwest Speed Gold after winning a pair of games earlier in the day to advance into the final game. Team Seattle earned a “Platinum” division berth to the national event, which is in about a month from now down in Anaheim. Midwest earned a “Premier” berth.

Basketball
Local team falls in title game at Renton tournament: After advancing to the finals of their tournament in Renton yesterday thanks to a forfeit, the eighth-grade Elite Grey boys’ youth basketball team, which features several future Mount Si High School boys’ basketball players, gave a Virginia-based team all they could handle but ran out of gas late and fell.

Elite fell to the DMV Knights 48-42 at Renton High School. According to regular reader Terry Danysh, whose son Carlos, one of those five future ‘Cats, led the way in this one for Elite with 14 points, the DMV team happened to be in the area enjoying the sights, which included a once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing an NFL team’s practice facility (their coach is ex-Seattle Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson, who helped lead the team to their first Super Bowl trip back in 2007, and they got to tour the Seahawk practice facilities), and just so happened to enter the event after having found out about it once they arrived in town. Good stuff, and we hope the Virginia kids will have plenty for show-and-tell when they get back home to the East Coast.

Among the other local players, Caden Harris had 10 and Tyler Barber added three to the cause for Elite.

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