MUKILTEO — When Kamiak baseball took a 2-0 lead over Jackson in the bottom of the first inning on Friday, with the first run coming from a failed putout at third base that went into the outfield and allowed the runner to stroll home, one could sense a potential blowout coming.
One would be right, kind of.
Instead, it was the Timberwolves (14-5, 6-4) that stormed back with four runs in the next frame on their way to an 8-3 win against the Knights (13-6, 7-3) at Geiger Field.
“That’s kind of our thing, to be honest,” Jackson coach Joe Fleury said. “Sometimes we’re a little bit of a slow starter, but that’s the thing: If you watch the game, they’re kind of patient, right? Like, ‘Let’s see some pitches, let’s see what they got,’ and then we kind of just play, add on from there. … That’s a goal that we’re kind of shooting for now, is to start quicker.”
After pulling out a 5-4 win against Kamiak on Wednesday, it was Jackson’s second win in three days against a team that entered this week at the top of Wesco 4A. After the Timberwolves dropped four of five league games heading into the two-game set, this sweep has them heading in the right direction, with one more non-league game against Cascade (Everett) on Monday before the postseason begins.
Jackson sits third behind Lake Stevens (13-5, 8-1) and Kamiak after saving their season with the past two wins.
“It was really some games that we shouldn’t have lost, that we didn’t have a lot of energy in,” designated hitter/reliever Derek Sundstrom said. “Didn’t work the counts well, didn’t get any clutch hits, and so I think the difference that we’ve made now is kind of realize, like, ‘Hey, the season’s coming to an end now. We’ve got playoffs coming up. If we don’t, like, really lock in now then we’re just going to end up not going to the playoffs and not even play how we should be.’”
Sundstrom (2-for-5, RBI) allowed just one hit and one run while striking out four across 4 2/3 innings of relief work. Starter MJ Holcomb pitched 2 1/3 innings, also allowing one hit but walking four. Fleury called both his pitchers “bulldogs,” doing exactly what the coaching staff asked of them and grinding down the Kamiak lineup after a shaky start.
After Kamiak took a 2-0 lead with outfielder Elijah Bovey (0-for-2, run) working around the bases following a leadoff walk, and catcher Malachi Noet (1-for-3, RBI) driving in a run with a single, Jackson cut it to 2-1 when third baseman Lucas Poindexter (0-for-2, run) scored from third on a passed ball. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for the Timberwolves, where Hawkeye Delgado (0-for-3), Gavin Duckart (1-for-2) and Sam Craig (0-for-3) each worked walks to take a 4-2 lead.
In the next inning, Jackson second baseman Colton White (1-for-3, run, RBI) reached on an error by Kamiak first baseman Andrew Fetty (0-for-2), and Sundstrom drove him home from third with an RBI single a couple of batters later to make it 5-2.
In the bottom of the frame, White dove to snag a line drive from Kamiak shortstop Colby Koga (0-for-2, run). One of White’s teammates in the Jackson dugout belted out a “duh-nuh-nuh, duh-nuh-nuh,” the classic ending of ESPN’s SportsCenter theme song, suggesting any film of that play should show up on the next morning’s Top 10.
“Just tried to make a play,” White said. “I try to do everything could to get an out. … It feels good (hearing the theme song). Just got my first two starts, so just trying to do my best right now.”
White later had an RBI single of his own in the top of the fourth, and meanwhile, Sundstrom continued working through the Kamiak lineup. He didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the seventh, a leadoff double to pinch-hitter Tyler Spaulding (1-for-1), who made it to third before going home on a groundout from pinch-hitter Ben Greaves to cut it to 8-3.
“I was just riding the wave, enjoying it, throwing hard, feeling good,” Sundstrom said. “At the end, there was a little less energy there, and give a fastball down the middle, let him hit it. But I knew the game was pretty much over anyway, so I just tried my best to keep it out of my head and keep going.”
Sundstrom notched the last two outs to secure the win. He is one of seven seniors on the team that Fleury coached in junior varsity before ascending to the head varsity role this season. That familiarity with his players has made building the culture a little easier for Fleury, but not without some hiccups.
After Jackson “got a little full of themselves, and then got punched in the mouth,” earlier this year, as Fleury put it, he’s seen the team start to gain confidence. He wants them to play in a way where they’re having fun, because he believes that’s when they’re at their best. With the playoffs on the horizon, it’s coming together at the right time.
“It’s awesome. I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else,” Fleury said. “I’ve told these kids since (I) took the job, there’s no place we’d rather be. I don’t want to coach anywhere else. These are my guys. … When I talked to them about the culture, and talked to the boosters about the culture that I wanted to build, I actually talked about, like, ‘Let’s bring it back 30 years. Let’s bring back the culture where baseball games on a Friday night are important to everybody, and let’s get the community involved.’”
Thanks to the sweep of Kamiak this week, there are still important games left to be played for Jackson.
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