Prep notebook: Mountlake Terrace has a dandy softball tandem

Published 11:01 am Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The connection between a pitcher and a catcher is crucial. Just ask Kim Stewart.

Stewart, head coach of the Mountlake Terrace High School softball team, guides one of the best pitcher-catcher duos in the area.

Pitcher Kori Seidlitz and catcher Kayla Watson are third-year varsity starters who earned all-league honors in 2007. This season the juniors have helped the Hawks get out to an impressive start. Mountlake Terrace won its first three Western Conference South Division games by a combined score of 13-1.

Coming into the spring the team clearly had a lot of confidence, Stewart said. Key reasons, he said, include the leadership of captains Stephanie McLauchlan and Megan Runkel, as well as the chemistry between Seidlitz and Watson.

“It’s a dream come true for any coach,” Stewart said of having a pitcher and a catcher who have started together since they were freshmen.

Unlike some coaches, Stewart doesn’t send in pitch signals from the dugout. Instead, he trusts Seidlitz and Watson to make decisions and adjustments.

“I like the bond between the catcher and the pitcher. They know what’s working out there and what’s not,” Stewart said.

Terrace, which was scheduled to play at Edmonds-Woodway Monday, has a big test today: The Hawks play host to Jackson, the defending Western Conference South Division champion.

The past two seasons Terrace was 0-4 versus Jackson, losing by a combined score of 34-4. Jackson was 3-0 in division games entering Monday’s scheduled contest against Lynnwood.

The 6-foot-1 Seidlitz, who was 0-1 on the mound against Jackson in 2007, uses height and work ethic to dominate hitters. She added velocity and variety to her pitch repertoire during the offseason, Stewart said.

Seidlitz bounced back from a painful end to her sophomore season. She broke the thumb on her right (pitching) hand in the final regular-season game when a Shorecrest player accidentally stepped on it when Seidlitz dove back to first base. She missed both of Terrace’s district tournament games, and the Hawks went two-and-out.

Now, with Seidlitz back, it’s a promising season full of new hope for Terrace.

“I’ve been coaching a long time and I only have one goal,” Stewart said. “That’s to get to the next level. For us, that’s districts.”

Lakewood outfielder locked on

Josh Spears showed signs of becoming a talented hitter, but no one predicted this kind of success: Through last week the Lakewood right fielder was hitting .680 and hadn’t struck out in nine games. The senior had been getting on base nearly 80 percent of the time.

“We knew Josh was a good hitter back when he was a sophomore, but he didn’t show this,” Lakewood baseball coach Larry Delaney said.

Spears (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) is an experienced player who has outstanding hand-eye coordination and patience at the plate, Delaney said.

“He is punishing the baseball. ¿ He’s right up there with the best hitters we’ve ever had at Lakewood,” said Delaney.

M-P wins sports-med contest

Marysville-Pilchuck won the 5th Annual Wesco Sports Medicine Competition March 25 at Mountlake Terrace. It’s the first time M-P won the event. Thirteen teams representing Wesco schools answered questions about anatomy, fitness, nutrition, injury recognition, injury treatment and injury evaluation. M-P’s team consisted of Kate Landry, Katie Muller, Taylor Fix, Bobby Kossak and Kelli Fessenden. They were coached by Tim McTee.

All-Wesco swimming correction

Cascade swimmer Sean Nesheim should have been listed on the winter All-Wesco North First Team for the 100-yard backstroke. Nesheim won the event at the Class 4A District 1 championships and placed third in it at the state meet.

First Team honors go to each league’s top finisher at districts.

Shorewood hires wrestling coach

Derek Norton is Shorewood’s new varsity wrestling coach. Norton, who has been a Shorewood assistant since 2003, replaces longtime T-birds coach Arnie Moreno, who resigned after the 2008 season to spend more time with his family.

“We are excited to give Derek this opportunity,” Shoreline School District athletic director Don Dalziel said of Norton, a first-time high school head coach. “He is familiar with Shorewood and the Shoreline School District. We feel the transition will be a smooth one and that Derek is an outstanding match for what we are looking for in a new head coach.”

Mike Cane, Herald Writer