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Marysville-Pilchuck comesback to beat Snohomish 6-4

The win sends M-P to state for first time since 2005

By Scott Whitmore
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- The Tommies were nervous but they never gave up, and for their efforts they reaped a big reward: a return to the state baseball tournament for the first time since 2005.

John Kruick drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded single during a five-run rally in the top of the seventh inning and John Trimble pitched 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief to lift the Tommies to a 6-4 victory over Snohomish in a winner-to-state Class 4A District 1 playoff game Tuesday at Everett Memorial Stadium.

"The fight in our guys, I give our guys a lot of credit," Tommies head coach Kurt Koshelnik said after the game. "They could have folded and they didn't."

Marysville-Pilchuck advances to play the winner of the Shorewood-Mountlake Terrace game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium to determine the district champion and set the seeding for the state tournament.

The Tommies trailed 4-1 heading into what could have been their final at-bats of the game in the top of the seventh. In the visitors' dugout Koshelnik told his batters to be aggressive and score runs.

"All year we've been a team that doesn't (take pitches)," the first-year coach said. "If you're going to throw it over the plate we're going to try to hit it and that worked out to our advantage today."

M-P center fielder Joe Bray led off the seventh with a line drive double that went to the wall in right-center field. Tyler Holm followed that up with a liner that dropped in front of the left fielder for a single, sending Bray to third.

After Levi Cartas fouled out behind the plate -- Snohomish catcher Tom Chandler stayed with the sky high pop-up and made the catch while falling backwards -- Mike Gange hit a liner into right field to score Bray and cut the margin to 4-2.

"We were nervous, we were just sitting there hoping," Kruick said. "But then it was hit after hit and we were getting more excited as it kept going."

Shortstop Ryan Dimascio followed with another line-drive single to plate Holm and first baseman Riley Gilbertson saw just one pitch before Panthers starter Derek Jones was replaced by Braden Allen.

Gilbertson singled to load the bases, so Kruick stepped up to the plate it was a one run game, with one out and runners at first and second.

After a ball and a strike, Kruick hit a soft liner into the gap in right-center, scoring the tying and winning runs.

"I was just trying to drive something to the outfield," Kruick said. "They actually told me to get something in the air to knock a run in with a sacrifice fly, but I found a little hole."

Josh Bartlett added an RBI double with a hard grounder just inside the bag at third base for the final margin of 6-4.

"Marysville has always been a very competitive program," Panthers head coach Kim Hammons said. "Tonight they flat-out hit in the clutch and they scored in the top of the seventh inning, so you give the tribute to them."

Kruick finished 2-for-4 and Bray was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Trimble came on in relief in the fifth inning and held the Panthers to just one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings to notch his fourth victory.

Snohomish still has a chance to make it to state through the consolation bracket. (Loser) plays the winner of the Monroe-Stanwood game in a loser-out game today at 7 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium.

The Panthers scored all of their runs in the fifth inning off Tommies starter Brennan Steinbaugh.

Snohomish shortstop Max Foster tripled home two runs with a deep fly over the right fielder's head that went to the wall in right-center field. Jones followed with a first-pitch home run over the right field wall to put the Panthers ahead 4-1.

Both Jones and Foster batted 1-for-3 with two RBI for the Panthers.

Cartas got the Tommies on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth with a hard single past the first baseman that scored Bray, who hit a leadoff single then moved to second on a sacrifice.

It was the third meeting of the year between the teams. Snohomish swept the regular-season series with Marysville-Pilchuck, winning 2-1 on March 18 and 9-5 on March 20.

After the game the Tommies coach was hard-pressed to single out a star player on the state-tournament bound team.

"We got a scrappy bunch of guys that are finally, I think, starting to clue in and work hard," Koshelnik said of his team. "And they're fun to watch. I'm having fun watching them."

At Everett Memorial Stadium

M-P 000 010 5 -- 6 13 2

Sno 000 040 0 -- 4 6 1

Steinbaugh, Trimble (5) and Botham. Jones, Allen (7) and Chandler. WP--Trimble (4-0) . LP­--Jones (5-2). 2B--Bray (MP), Bartlett (MP). 3B--Foster (S). HR--Jones (S). Records--M-P (15-6 overall). Snohomish (16-5).