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<< Previous   of   Next >> Michael O'Leary / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Lakewood High’s Josh Spears (right) is batting .477 and has a .610 on-base percentage through 16 games.   ADVERTISEMENT   HIGH SCHOOL SCORES AND SCHEDULES: By sport: BaseballBoys basketballBoys golfBoys soccerBoys swimmingBoys tennis Boys trackBoys wrestlingCross countryFootballGirls basketballGirls bowlingGirls golfGirls soccerGirls swimmingGirls tennisGirls trackGirls wrestlingGymnasticsSoftballTrackVolleyballWrestling By date: December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 December 7 December 8 December 9 December 10 December 11 December 12 December 13 December 14 December 15 December 16 December 17 December 18 December 19 December 20 December 21 December 22 December 23 By school: Archbishop Murphy Arlington Bothell Cascade Cedar Park Christian-Everett Cedarcrest Concrete Coupeville Darrington Edmonds-Woodway Everett Friday Harbor Glacier Peak Grace Academy Granite Falls Highland Christian Prep Jackson Kamiak King's La Conner Lake Stevens Lakewood Lopez Island Lummi Lynnwood Mariner Marysville-Pilchuck Meadowdale Monroe Mount Vernon Christian Mountlake Terrace North Sound Christian Oak Harbor Orcas Island Shorecrest Shoreline Christian Shorewood Snohomish South Whidbey Stanwood Sultan Tulalip Heritage    • Stadium map By league: Cascade Conference Non-conference Northwest 1A/2B Northwest 1B Northwest 2B Wesco Wesco 3A Wesco North Wesco South STANDINGS: Select league Cascade Conference baseball Cascade Conference boys basketball Cascade Conference boys soccer Cascade Conference boys wrestling Cascade Conference football Cascade Conference girls basketball Cascade Conference girls soccer Cascade Conference softball Cascade Conference volleyball Northwest 1A/2B baseball Northwest 1A/2B boys basketball Northwest 1A/2B boys soccer Northwest 1A/2B boys wrestling Northwest 1A/2B girls basketball Northwest 1A/2B girls soccer Northwest 1A/2B softball Northwest 1A/2B volleyball Northwest 1B boys basketball Northwest 1B boys soccer Northwest 1B girls basketball Northwest 1B girls soccer Northwest 1B volleyball Northwest 2B football Wesco 3A Football Wesco North baseball Wesco North boys basketball Wesco North boys soccer Wesco North boys swimming Wesco North boys tennis Wesco North boys track Wesco North boys wrestling Wesco North football Wesco North girls basketball Wesco North girls soccer Wesco North girls swimming Wesco North girls tennis Wesco North girls track Wesco North softball Wesco North volleyball Wesco South baseball Wesco South boys basketball Wesco South boys soccer Wesco South boys swimming Wesco South boys tennis Wesco South boys track Wesco South boys wrestling Wesco South football Wesco South girls basketball Wesco South girls soccer Wesco South girls swimming Wesco South girls tennis Wesco South girls track Wesco South softball Wesco South volleyball CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, April 18, 2008 Lakewood's Josh Spears is red hot The senior right fielder is batting .477 with an on-base percentage of .610 By Scott M. Johnson Herald Writer Josh Spears was in a slump. Three consecutive games without a single base hit. While it's not exactly a Richie Sexson-sized drought, the three-game hitless streak was enough to keep the Lakewood High School senior up at night. Spears was struggling so badly, in fact, that his batting average on the baseball field dropped all the way below .450. That, of course, was last week. After another typical game at the plate on Saturday, Spears was back to hitting .470, with an incredible on-base percentage of .580. By Thursday he had pushed his batting average to .477 and his on-base percentage to .610. When it comes to starting a season, Lakewood's right fielder has been on a tear like no other. Spears posted a .680 batting average through the first three weeks of the season, and he's gotten only slightly cooler in the ensuing two weeks. "That's the hottest I've ever seen any hitter in high school," said Larry Delaney, who is in his 17th season as Lakewood's varsity baseball coach. "Everything he was hitting, it was right on the screws. It's not like he was hitting little dinks that were dropping in for hits. They were all bullets." Spears got off to a quick start to the 2008 baseball season with three hits, including a home run, in Lakewood's second game against Archbishop Murphy. Over the three-game series, he was 6-for-8 with three doubles, a home run and six RBI. Oh, and he also threw out two runners at the plate. He followed that up with a big offensive series against Cedarcrest, then went 7-for-8 with a pair of home runs in a three-game series against South Whidbey. "I was seeing the ball real well," Spears said. "I felt comfortable up there (at the plate). I always feel like I'm a great player, but there are times when I struggle because I can't see the ball real well. But I could really see it well (early this season)." How well? "The ball looks real big," he said, "and I can see where it's going to break." After a somewhat disappointing junior season in which he hit only .343, Spears put in extra time at his friend's batting cage over the fall and winter. He admitted that Delaney is right in his assessment that Spears "tried to do too much" last year, and now the senior is trying to stay relaxed in the batter's box. That's easier said than done, especially with the way teams have pitched to him as of late. After his initial surge, Spears has seen a shift in philosophy when it comes to opposing pitches. "When he realized that teams were pitching him a little differently, there was a couple of weeks of an adjustment period," Delaney said. "And now he's made that. So it will be interesting to see how he finishes the season." Over the weekend, Spears started to see the ball well again. And, unfortunately for his upcoming opponents, the Lakewood senior thinks his brief slump might be a thing of the past. "All it takes is that one hit to get out of it," Spears said. If Spears can get back into a groove, the interest from NCAA schools might continue to mount. Delaney said that the University of Washington and Washington State are among the schools who are interested in having Spears walk on, but for now his best option might be the junior-college route. "The big recruiting push for four-year schools is during a player's junior year," Delaney said. "UW and WSU are pretty locked into their recruiting class, so he might have to be open to going to junior college and seeing what happens from there." If someone gives Spears a chance, Delaney added, that school might benefit in the long run. "I've had guys go on and play Division I, places like UW and San Jose State, and Josh ranks right up there," Delaney said. "He's probably the most natural hitter I've seen."

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