Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal

Good Tuesday morning. We hit the links this morning with news on some Valley youth golfers who are making cases for a trip to the Washington Junior Golf Association state tournament, after solid results in a pair of district tournament opening rounds yesterday.

We start in the District Two event in Redmond, where Mount Si High’s Kasey Maralack is in command of the girls’ 14-15 age group going into today’s final round. She fired an even-par 72 yesterday at the Willows Run Golf Club and looks to lock up a trip to the state tournament later today. Meanwhile, the other local entrant in the field, Snoqualmie’s Charlie Gaffney, fired a 94 in his first round in the boys’ 12-13 age division and sits well back going into the final round today.

The District Six event is down at High Cedars Golf Club in Orting, and Mount Si boys’ golfer Hogan Warford fared well in round one yesterday, firing a three-over par 75 on the par-72 layout and he sits in fourth in the boys’ 14-15 age group. If he is able to maintain his placing today, he is expected to land a berth to the state event. Also looking strong for a state berth is future ‘Cat Shane Russell. The youngster from Snoqualmie, competing over just nine holes in the boys 8-11 age group, is second after a round of 44 yesterday. Again, as with Warford, if Russell is able to hold his placing today, he’s likely to also go to state.

Rounding it out in District Six, Warford’s Wildcat teammate Cooper Neil fired an eight-over 80 and is in the middle of the pack in the boys’ 16-18 age group. Neil’s going to need to have a strong round today and probably get some help if he wants to make it to state.

The action wraps up today at both events. The state tournament is in Tacoma July 31-August 2.

Time now for some diamond cuts. Youth baseball action this morning from Gamechanger and the Gamechanger app, available on Apple IPhones and IPads in their app store.

Prospect United 8, Washington A’s 18U Premier 7 (game one, doubleheader): The Tacoma-based Prospect squad held off the Sammamish-based A’s in the first of two at Bob Albo Field on the Newport High School campus in Bellevue. 2018 Mount Si HS alum Will Scott went 1-4 with a run scored for the A’s.

Field of Champions 16U Bears 3, Northwest Bandits 0: A sixth-inning homer by Mount Si’s Andrew Edson sparked the Preston-based Bears to a win over the Kirkland-based Bandits last night in Kent. Edson’s two-run shot keyed a three-run frame for FoC which ended up being their only scoring of the contest. He finished 2-3 with that run scored and two RBI’s from the homer.

Boys of Summer 18U Blue 8, Chaffey Baseball 1: 2019 Mount Si alum Trace Halvorson went 3-4 with a double, run scored and RBI, lifting Bellevue-based Boys to the Brandy Pugh tournament title with their win over Edmonds-based Chaffey last night at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue. Fellow 2019 MSHS’er Spencer Marenco went 0-4 with an RBI.

WW Sweets 15U 13, City Baseball Green 12: Sammamish-based Sweets won a wild one on a walk-off last night in Kent. Sweet Parker Barrysmith hit the walk-off hit scoring Mount Si’s Jake Smith with the winning run and completing a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh giving WWS the win over the Seattle team. Smith finished 1-3 with that run scored, a walk and RBI while fellow ‘Cat Aidan Dougherty powered the Sweets, with two doubles headlining a 3-3 peformance; he also walked once, scored three runs and drove in two more.

Washington A’s 18U Premier 9, Prospect United 6 (game two, doubleheader): The A’s broke a 6-6 tie with three runs in the seventh to take the nightcap of their twinbill with Prospect and split the pair. Scott, set to be a sophomore this fall in college at the Colorado School of Mines, was 2-4 with a double and RBI pacing the A’s.

College Summer Baseball
“JuJu” makes a smashing debut with Wenatchee: The Wenatchee Apple Sox have signed catcher Justin Lutz to a contract, and the 2017 Mount Si HS grad made his Sox debut last night. It was one to remember.

Lutz homered and drove in two runs for Wenatchee as the West Coast League team outslugged the U.S. Military All-Stars 13-8 in a non-league game last night at Wenatchee Valley College. If you will remember, earlier this summer, Lutz and his friend and fellow 2017 MSHS alum Gavin Gorrell, who pitches for the Sox, faced each other in a game when Lutz was playing for
Wenatchee’s WCL rival Yakima Valley Pippins. With Lutz’s stint with that team now having wrapped up, he has hooked up to join the Sox and perhaps will now get to catch Gorrell in a game down the stretch this summer, we shall see. Gorrell is not expected to start on the hill again until this weekend when Wenatchee faces the Bellingham Bells up north at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham. Before that, though, the Sox are in Kelowna, BC, Canada, this morning starting a series with the Kelowna Falcons which goes from tonight to Thursday.

Lutz will be a junior this fall in college and as you also know, he has signed with Montana State University-Billings after wrapping up his junior college eligibility with the Community Colleges of Spokane. He is from Fall City and the son of current Mount Si baseball coach Brent Lutz.

Honkers drop one in Everett: In Pacific International League action last night, the Valley-based Northwest Honkers fell 6-4 to the Everett Merchants up in Everett. Duvall’s Cameron Padron, a Cedarcrest HS grad, went 1-3 for NWH in this one. The Honkers play again tomorrow against the Redmond Dudes in Redmond at 5:30. They are currently seeking a new permanent home field for next season after leaving Fall City Community Park, where they had previously played their home games. A decision on that home field is not likely until early next year.

Good Monday morning. A lot to get to as we wrap up the weekend with diamond cuts aplenty.

We begin on the college summer baseball circuit and for the second straight start, North Bend’s Gavin Gorrell put up some quality numbers and his efforts helped his team, the Wenatchee Apple Sox, pick up a win.

Gorrell went 5 1/3 strong innings, allowing just two runs on two hits, as Wenatchee broke out to a 5-0 lead and cruised to an 8-3 home win last night over the visiting Bellingham Bells in a West Coast League game at Wenatchee Valley College. The win enabled the Sox to sweep the Bells in the three-game series and move to 16-17 on the season, 4-2 in the second-half portion of it.

Gorrell, a left-hander, walked two, struck out four and saw his ERA drop to a manageable 4.30 after it had been over six just a couple of weeks ago following a tough outing in Victoria earlier this season. The 2017 Mount Si High School grad, a sophomore this fall at Boise State University, was coming off an excellent performance last weekend in which he pitched six strong innings for Wenatchee in a win over Bend. His performance last night earned him a win and he is now 2-2 on the season. And speaking of that outing in Victoria, in which he allowed four runs in just 2/3 of an inning in a loss June 25, take that outing out of the equation and he’s sporting right now a strong 2.82 earned run average in the other five outings. In all, outside of that one performance, the summer for this Valleyite has gone well, thank you very much.

Wenatchee is home tonight hosting the U.S. Military All-Stars, and Gorrell’s next start probably won’t come again until this weekend, when the Sox and Bells meet up in Bellingham.

Also this morning:

Honkers, Wallbangers split two: The Northwest Honkers and Seattle Wallbangers split a twinbill up in Snohomish yesterday, with the Valley-based Honkers winning the opener 10-2 before Seattle took the nightcap 7-4 in Pacific International League action.

Duvall’s Cameron Padron played for the Honkers in the opener and went 1-4 with a run scored and RBI, while Mount Si HS alum Tiye Utley played for the Wallbangers in the nightcap and he, too, went 1-4.

The Honkers play at Everett Memorial Stadium in Everett tonight against the Everett Merchants. NWH is not playing home games in the Valley this year as it seeks a permanent home field to replace their previous home field at Fall City Community Park. The soon-to-be constructed new facility at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie may be a possible location for the team, but decisions on where they’ll play next season won’t be made until perhaps after the new year begins next January.

Time for the youth action. Baseball and softball from Gamechanger and the Gamechanger app, available on Apple IPhones and IPads in their app store.

Softball
Bellevue Blast 18U 3, ‘Canes Fastpitch 2: The Blast picked up a win yesterday morning at the Washington State Games tournament in Kent with the help of 2019 MSHS grad Sam Simmons, who went 2-2 pacing Bellevue.

Washington Angels 7, Bellevue Blast 16U 6: The Tri-Cities-based Angels knocked the Blast’s 16U group out of the WSG with this victory yesterday morning in Kent. Mount Si’s Ginger Harris walked three times and scored a run for Bellevue in the contest.

Northwest Speed 7, Elite Diamonds 16U Pluschke 1: The Redmond-based Diamonds were knocked out of the USA Softball of Washington state 16U tournament in Selah falling to this central Washington team yesterday. Cedarcrest’s Payton Pluschke doubled and scored a run while Mount Si’s Jaclyn Huntzinger went 1-3, both for the Diamonds.

Washington Thunder 7, Bellevue Blast 18U 3: The Blast’s 18U team was knocked out last night of the WSG by the Pierce County-based Thunder. Simmons went 0-2 in this one for Bellevue.

Baseball
FSP Baseball 18U 8, Victoria Eagles 0: Bellevue-based Ford rolled to a win at the GSL College Showcase tournament in Centralia yesterday morning over the Canadian team. Mount Si’s duo of Troy Baunsgard and Harrison Clark each had a double and scored a run for FSP, with Clark also driving in a run.

Rippers Baseball 16U 12, Washington Select Warriors 2: Cedarcrest HS’s Kian Pegueros-Warren aided the Redmond-based Rippers, going 2-3 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI’s as the Rippers won a morning game at the weekend GSL tournament in Auburn. Fellow Red Wolve Mason Pudwill doubled, walked, scored a run and drove in a second also pacing the Rippers.

Federal Way Knights 9, Northwest Naturals 17U 3: A big day for Mount Si’s Cam Ferreri proved to not be enough in the end, as the Knights scored six in the ninth to finish a rally from an early 3-0 hole to stun the Sammamish-based Nats yesterday afternoon in the GSL event in southwest Washington. Ferreri went 4-4 scoring a run and driving in another for NWN, who also had a solid afternoon from another Mount Si’er, Jack Mardon, who went 1-2 with two walks and a run scored.

Laces Baseball 2, Field of Champions 16U Bears 1: The Everett-based Laces broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a run and sank the Preston-based Bears in a game down in Kent. Mount Si’s Tyler Clem paced FoC, going 1-2 with the Bears’ lone run in the contest.

Baden Black 16U 5, Juanita Baseball Club 16U 4: Seattle-based Baden held off a late rally from Juanita at Denny Field in West Seattle. Ex-MSHS’er Mason Gronewald went 0-3 for Baden. He played this spring for Mercer Island High School’s team.

City Baseball Green 9, Northwest Naturals 16U 6: NWN suffered the loss in the Seattle Elite League playoffs down in Kent last night. Wildcat Tyler Disch started on the hill for the Naturals, based in Sammamish, and took the loss, allowing five runs, just one earned, on four hits in 3 2/3 innings, walking five and striking out three. Fellow ‘Cat Dawson Schneider went 1-2 with a walk and run scored pacing NWN.

Washington A’s 18U Premier 6, Spokane Expos 3: The Sammamish-based A’s doubled up the Spokane team to take a weekend tournament last night down in Tacoma. Mount Si alum Will Scott locked down a save in this one for the A’s pitching two innings of one-hit relief, striking out two. He will be a sophomore this fall in college at the Colorado School of Mines.

Baden Baseball Premier 1, Boys of Summer 18U Blue 0: Bellevue-based BoS was on the short end of a pitcher’s duel last night in the Brandy Pugh Tournament game at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue. MSHS alums Spencer Marenco and Trace Halvorson went a combined 0-6 with a walk for Boys in this one.

FCA Black 7, WW Sweets 15U 2: Sammamish-based Sweets fell in the Seattle Elite League playoffs last night in Kent to the Woodinville-based team. Mount Si’s Jake Smith went 1-3 pacing WWS, and Sweets teammate – and fellow ‘Cat – Aidan Dougherty was 0-1 with a walk and run scored.

Rijo Showcase 6, FSP Baseball 18U 5: Redmond-based Rijo held off the Ford squad in a nightcap game last night down in Centralia. Clark and Baunsgard both went 0-2 but Baunsgard also recorded a walk for FSP in the contest.

Minor League Baseball
Lane works hard: It was back to work with the Trenton Thunder for North Bend’s Trevor Lane yesterday. In his first appearance on the mound since pitching in the Eastern League all-star game this past Wednesday, the 2012 Mount Si HS grad worked 2 1/3 innings of relief, allowing three hits and a walk but struck out two for the New York Yankees-affiliated class “AA” minor league team as they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies-affiliated Reading Fightin’ Phils 8-2 in Pennsylvania yesterday in an Eastern League contest.

Lane drops his ERA to 1.45 on the season with the performance that earned him no decision. He is in his fourth season in pro ball with the Yankees organization, and is poised for a midseason promotion to the organization’s “AAA” team in Scranton, PA. We’ll keep you posted if he actually gets that call.

Golf
WJGA district tourneys start today: Several Valley youth golfers will compete for the chance to compete in an upcoming youth golf state tournament today, as the Washington Junior Golf Association hosts district tournaments.

The association’s District Two, covering the Eastside, and District Six, covering Pierce and south King Counties, are holding their tournaments today and tomorrow. Both events will feature local competitors.

There are two in the District Two event in Redmond, led by Mount Si High School girls’ golfer Kasey Maralack, and four more in the District Six event down in Orting. There, Mount Si boys’ golfers Cooper Neil and Hogan Warford lead the group. Hogan’s brother, Wildcat boys’ star Drew, is not competing in the tournament despite having qualified for it earlier this summer.

The competitions are today and tomorrow and top finishers in the various age groups will earn trips to the WJGA’s state tournament, later this month in Tacoma. We’ll keep you apprised on how the players do.