EDMONDS – Geoff Brown knew his time on the mound would be limited on Monday. He sure made the most of it.
The senior pitcher struck out nine batters in four innings before reaching a pre-determined pitch count and drove in three runs to help carry the Jackson High School baseball team to an 11-5 victory over Edmonds-Woodway.
Center fielder Danny Oh had four hits, including a home run and a double, and three RBI for Jackson, which clinched the Wesco South championship. With one league game remaining, E-W is two games behind the defending Class 4A state champion Timberwolves (14-1 Wesco South, 17-1 overall).
“Hey, we won the Wesco South and that’s nice,” Jackson coach Kirk Nicholson said. “But we certainly have our eye on something else.”
That’s exactly why Brown (6-1), a University of Washington recruit, was removed after throwing 58 pitches. He left the mound with a 6-1 lead after tripling in two runs in the top of the fourth inning and closing out a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth with back-to-back strikeouts.
Nicholson limited Brown’s work to keep the dominant left-hander fresh for Saturday, when the 4A District 1 tournament begins. Jackson is the South No. 1 seed and will host a first-round game at 1 p.m.
Nicholson set Brown’s pitch limit at 60. The senior reached 58 pitches and that was it, which was a welcome sight for his opponent.
“He has command of all of his pitches,” E-W coach Matt Barker said. “That’s the No. 1 thing. He really toyed with us with his breaking ball.”
Mike Robertson hit a run-scoring double in the first to give Jackson a 1-0 lead. In the third, Riley Lillibridge and Oh smacked consecutive solo homers to make it 3-0.
Later, E-W (12-3, 15-4) rallied for three runs in the fifth off Lillibridge, who relieved Brown. But the Warriors didn’t have enough firepower to catch Jackson, which accumulated 16 hits and featured six players with at least two hits.
“I was happy that we came back and we made the game competitive, a little bit towards the end there,” Barker said. “Obviously, they’re pretty tough with Brown on the hill.”
Oh (4-for-5, three runs scored) did all sorts of damage in the leadoff spot. He’s one of many Jackson players who’ve been spraying the ball around all season.
“I don’t have a guy batting under .300 in my entire lineup,” Nicholson said, “and I’ve got six guys batting over .400 right now.”
The six .400-plus guys are Oh, Brown, Chris Lynch, Ricky Kellogg, Branden Wang and Ryan Charawell, Nicholson said.
Jackson, which has won 10 straight games, wraps up the regular season at 4 p.m. today at home against E-W. The 2006 state champs wield a mix of experienced stars and up-and-coming standouts. How will the revamped combination translate in the postseason?
“We’re coming in really hot. We’re obviously stroking the ball all over the place,” said Brown, who was 2-for-5. “Our pitching’s doing really well. And actually our defense has gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season.”
Bad news for opponents: It looks like Jackson is ready for another state-title chase.
For now, it will savor another division crown.
“It’s definitely exciting,” said Brown.
Yes, but the Timberwolves plan to share many more exciting moments before the season ends.
At Edmonds-Woodway H.S.
Jackson1023221-11161
Edmonds-Woodway0010310-591
G. Brown, Lillbridge (5), M. Brown (5), Jeffery (6) and Morse. Jones, Betts (6) and Cox. WP-G. Brown (6-1). LP-Jones (4-3). 2B-Robertson (J), Oh (J), Scott (E-W), Houvener (E-W), Long (E-W). 3B-Brown (J). HR-Lillibridge (J), Oh (J). Records-Jackson 14-1 in division, 17-1 overall. Edmonds-Woodway 12-3, 15-4.
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