MUKILTEO — In a terrific Saturday afternoon high school playoff game, Kamiak was just a little more terrific than Shorewood.
Behind the stellar pitching of senior right-hander Andrew Groves, some timely two-out hitting, and a defensive gem from center fielder Chris Guinn, the Knights picked up a 2-1 first-round victory at the Class 4A District 1 baseball tournament.
It was a battle befitting two fine teams. And as good as Kamiak was, the visiting Thunderbirds might well have won if not for Guinn’s running, sprawling catch against the fence in the top of the sixth inning, which he then turned into a rally-killing, inning-ending double play.
Denied by Guinn, the T-birds went to the seventh inning still trailing by a run and Groves retired the side in order, striking out the last two batters he faced.
“That was a great high school baseball game,” said Kamiak head coach Steve Merkley. “It was nip and tuck all the way.”
“A great high school game,” agreed T-birds head coach Wyatt Tonkin. “It was a fantastic game to watch. And it was a lot of fun.”
The win advances Kamiak to a 7 p.m. winner-to-state game on Tuesday at Everett Memorial Stadium against Jackson, which defeated Lake Stevens 7-0 on Saturday.
Shorewood drops into the consolation bracket and will face Lake Stevens in a 7 p.m. loser-out game on Monday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Kamiak scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Seth Heck drew a one-out walk, moved to second on an infield out, and scored when Jared Houghtaling whistled a sharp line drive past a diving Conner McKeever, Shorewood’s shortstop, for an RBI single.
The T-birds wasted no time replying. In the second inning, leadoff hitter Robbie Rusch blasted the second pitch he saw over the right-center field fence.
It was a changeup, up in the strike zone, Groves said. “It should have been lower,” he admitted ruefully.
Kamiak got the go-ahead run in the third inning with back-to-back two-out hits. Heck lashed a drive to right field that bounced off the wall for a double, and he scored as Guinn dropped the first pitch he saw into left field for a single.
Guinn moved to third on an infield hit by Houghtaling, and the Knights had a chance to break the game open when left fielder Jake Sorter followed with a drive to the warning track in left field. But Shorewood’s Max Jacobs got back in time to make a running, twisting catch before crashing into the fence. He stayed down for a time and eventually had to leave the game.
“He didn’t lose consciousness, but he was groggy, so we took him out for precautionary reasons,” Tonkin said.
After the home run by Rusch, Groves kept the T-birds in check until the sixth, when Thomas Vincent singled sharply to right. He was forced at second base by pitcher Blake Snell, who was replaced by courtesy runner Chris Giles.
First baseman Trevor Mitsui then blasted a ball deep into the right field gap, and it looked for a moment like a go-ahead home run or at least a game-tying double or triple. But Guinn came racing over, made an outstanding catch, smacked into the fence, fell down, and then stood to make a strong throw to first base that doubled off Giles, who was halfway to third when the ball was caught.
Guinn had been shaded into left-center field when the ball was hit, “and I was (thinking), ‘This can’t get over (the fence). I have to try to rob him or something because that’s pretty much the game if he gets it over (the fence).’
“So I didn’t even look at the ball,” he said. “I just chose a spot on the fence and sprinted to it, and I looked up at the last second and it was there.”
“(Guinn) has done that all year, so you kind of expect it,” Merkley said with a smile. “Not that he makes every catch like that, but he makes big catches. And that one was huge.”
It was to be Shorewood’s last good scoring chance. Groves retired the T-birds in order in the seventh to improve his season record to 9-0. He gave up just three hits, one walk and struck out six.
“That was his best game, maybe of his career,” Merkley said. “He made two bad pitches _ one went out and one almost went out _ but otherwise he pitched really well.”
Shorewood starter Blake Snell was nearly as good, giving up five hits, two walks and striking out six. “He threw outstanding,” Tonkin said.
Outstanding, in fact, would describe a lot of what happened in this game.
“You’re not going to see a better game than that,” Tonkin said. “The fans got their money’s worth.”
At Kamiak H.S.
Shorewood0100000—131
Kamiak101000x—250
Snell and Vincent; Groves and Houghtaling. WP_Groves. LP_Snell. 2B_Heck (K). HR_Rusch (S). Records_Shorewood 13-9. Kamiak 17-4.
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