By Chris Beatty
Herald Writer
EVERETT – Ever since the Kamiak baseball team first took the field in 1994, they’ve felt like the school bridesmaid of spring sports, a second fiddle to the Knights’ dominant softball program.
Kamiak coach Steve Merkley and his team can finally exhale, as their 6-1 defeat Thursday of Edmonds-Woodway in the 4A District 1 semifinal earned them a berth into the state tournament for the first time in program history.
“We’ve always been second to softball,” said Merkley, whose team will face Cascade, 6-4 winners over Shorewood in the other semifinal, in Saturday’s title game. “It’s definitely a relief to finally make it to state. But we still want to win district so we can host a regional (tournament, May 18).”
Edmonds-Woodway will play Snohomish in a loser-out game at Everett Memorial Stadium at 11 a.m. Saturday. Shorewood will square off against Mount Vernon at 11 a.m. on the Marysville-Pilchuck High School field.
The Knights got a complete-game effort from sophomore pitcher Brian Ouellette and timely hitting from Jeff Poole and Nate Santiago.
Ouellette (3-3 overall) held Edmonds-Woodway to just four hits over seven innings. Ouellette walked two and struck out four.
“I was a little bit nervous before the game,” Ouellette said. “But after the first pitch it was done.”
Kamiak’s Santiago, aside from making a handful of dazzling defensive plays at shortstop, was 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. His two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning put the Knights ahead 6-1.
“Growing up I was the special glove guy because I was so little,” Santiago said. “Lately, my hitting has really come alive too.”
Kamiak’s Poole also had a big day at the plate, hitting a pair of doubles and driving in two runs.
“It’s just a rush as a senior to be part of the first Kamiak baseball team to make it to state,” Santiago said. “This has been a goal for four years. But now we want to win state.”
Cascade’s game against Shorewood was anything but routine, as both teams combined for 10 runs, 18 hits, eight errors and a few controversial calls.
Both teams fell victim to questionable calls by the umpires, but the biggest one happened in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Trailing 2-1 with runners on second and third and one out, Shorewood’s Shea Tonkin sent a ball deep to left field. The ball next appeared in front of the warning track and Cascade’s Corey Sizemore threw it to second base.
Tonkin, believing he had hit a home run over the fence and the ball ricocheted back onto the field from the outfield netting was tackled by a Cascade player trying to apply a tag.
After a discussion between the two umpires, Tonkin became the second out of the inning and he was credited with a two-run double instead of a three-run home run.
“I heard wood,” Cascade coach Jim Willie said. “But I’m not the umpire and I don’t make calls.”
Cascade second baseman Nick Castillas also heard the ball hit the wall.
“I heard it (hit) as clear as day,” said Castillas, who was 2-for-3 with two RBI. “I talked to Corey (the Cascade left fielder) and he said it was off the wall.”
Glimore, Quealey (4), Niebrugge (5) and White. Ouellette and T. Reed. WP-Ouellette (3-3). LP-Gilmore. 2B-Hill (E-W), Finnie 2 (K), Poole 2 (K), Rollins (K). Records-Edmonds-Woodway: 15-8 overall. Kamiak: 16-6.
| Cascade |
200 |
020 |
2 |
– |
6 |
11 |
4 |
| Shorewood |
000 |
300 |
1 |
– |
4 |
7 |
4 |
T. Snow, Schroeder (5) and McDonnell. Kristjanson and Tonkin. WP-T. Snow. LP-Kristjanson. 2B-Schroeder (C), Sanders (S), Tonkin (S). Records-Cascade: 14-8 overall. 16-7.
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