MARYSVILLE – Brandon Kizer has certainly made the most of his role reversal.
After serving as the Marysville-Pilchuck baseball team’s No. 1 relief pitcher a year ago, this spring Kizer has become a top-notch starter for the surging Tomahawks.
Propelled by five masterful shutout innings from the senior right-hander and a six-run second inning, M-P won its fourth straight game Friday, beating Cascade 7-3 in a Western Conference North Division contest.
Kizer, who improved to 5-0, struck out six, walked one and allowed just two hits, one of which was a fluke single that an outfielder lost in the sun. Kizer didn’t let a Cascade runner get beyond second base and used his 210-pound frame to overpower batters.
“He throws to the inside part of the plate and he’s able to get in on some guys’ hands a little bit where they aren’t able to make very good contact,” M-P coach Josh Rosenbach said.
Kizer’s fastball worked well, but he managed to mix things up, too.
“He’s a power guy,” Rosenbach added, “but he does change speeds as well as he tries to keep them off balance.”
Kizer faced just seven batters through two innings and had two strikeouts in the first, third and fifth innings.
“You gotta give Kizer a lot of credit. He was ahead of us the whole game,” Cascade coach Scott Stencil said.
Kizer helped M-P improve its record to 6-5 in division, 9-6 overall. The Tomahawks are in fourth place among Class 4A teams in the North. The top four 4A squads advance to districts.
After scoring one run in the first inning, M-P exploded for six runs on four hits and two errors in the second inning. The Tomahawks sent 11 batters to the plate. Kyle Mallory (2-for-4, two doubles) supplied the big hit with a two-run double to deep left-center field.
“You get a seven-run lead (by) the second inning – that’s a great way to start,” said Rosenbach. “I just wanted to see a little bit more intensity the rest of the game. We kind of cruised a little bit from there.”
The Tomahawks have outscored opponents 37-15 during their four-game winning streak. Their next game is 4 p.m. Tuesday at Cascade.
M-P’s early offense helped Kizer relax and ultimately sent Cascade (4-9, 4-12) to its third straight defeat and sixth in its past seven tries.
“I can pretty much just throw strikes and get it over the plate and let them hit it, so that was successful,” Kizer said of pitching with a large lead.
Catcher Kyle Bottin was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI for M-P.
After falling behind 7-0, Cascade recovered and scored three straight runs over the final two innings. Andrew Hanson drilled a towering two-run home run to left-center to cut it to 7-2 in the sixth.
“We just had that hiccup in the second inning there where (M-P) hit some good balls,” Stencil said. “Give them credit. They did a good job putting good swings on the baseball.”
“I’m proud of the way we played,” added Stencil. “It’s hard to lose, but I’m happy with the way we played today as far as playing the game the right way.”
Hanson’s homer was his third this season. The third baseman is probably the team’s most improved player and his contributions have been a pleasant surprise, Stencil said. Hanson smashed the home run on a 3-0 count.
Cascade played without senior Steve Souza, a Washington State University recruit. The shortstop/pitcher served a one-game suspension after being ejected from Cascade’s previous game, Stencil said.
At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.
Cascade0000021-362
M-P160000x-792
Benson, Br. Wilson and Carney. Kizer, Austin and Bottin. WP-Kizer (5-0). LP-Benson. 2B-Amos (C), Mallory (M-P) 2, Bottin (M-P). HR-Hanson (C). Records-Cascade 4-9 in division, 4-12 overall. Marysville-Pilchuck 6-5, 9-6.
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