EVERETT — Perfectly clear, near 70 degrees, and lots of sun.
Yep, Cascade had nowhere to hide from Jacob Reppert and the rest of the Monroe Bearcats baseball team.
Reppert, a left-handed junior, limited Cascade’s powerful hitters to just one run after the first inning and Monroe took advantage of its scoring opportunities to pick up a 7-3 Wesco North victory Friday afternoon at Cascade High School.
With the victory, Monroe matched Cascade’s league record of 11-4 and set up a showdown between the two schools to determine the Wesco North No. 2 seed on Monday in the regular season finale for both teams.
“We knew it was a big game coming in,” Reppert said of spoiling Cascade’s chance to clinch the second seed before the season finale.
“I think the team that wanted it more got it,” Cascade head coach Scott Stencil said. “… In my eyes, (the second seed) is huge. You have a home playoff game (with the second seed). Regardless of who the opponent is, you always want a home game.”
Monroe never trailed and took the lead for good in the second inning when Monroe senior Danny Griesmer led off with a double and scored when Cody Reed flew out to put the Bearcats up 3-2.
Griesmer, Reed and Cody Hastings each had a double in the game, and Monroe capitalized on four Cascade errors to add insurance runs. Hastings finished 2-for-4 with a double and Griesmer finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI single.
“We talked all week about moving runners,” Monroe head coach Neil Henderson said. “… We executed.”
But Reppert was a big part of the reason Monroe, which tied for first place in the Wesco North last year, will have another shot at the No. 2 seed on Monday.
After a rough first inning where Reppert faced eight Cascade batters and surrendered two runs (one unearned), the Monroe junior changed his game plan, moving away from using his fastball and relying more on his curveball.
“They had a couple hits,” Reppert said. “(I saw) that if I could get my curveball to work I could get them out. They were hitting my fastball.”
Aided by three double plays, Reppert held Cascade to just three hits the rest of the way.
That was more than enough to please Henderson.
“We knew (Cascade) could hit the ball,” Henderson said. “It seems like every time you read the newspaper all you see are home runs.”
“Outstanding pitching today,” Henderson added of Reppert, who had two strikeouts and three walks in seven innings to improve to 5-2 on the year.
For Cascade, Jordan Duffy hit a triple and scored one run, and Kyler Meek added an RBI double in the fourth inning that pulled Cascade within 6-3.
Brian McPartland started on his birthday for Cascade and turned in a decent performance, but was hurt by three unearned runs.
Cascade, which was playing without shortstop Jacob Ort, honored its nine seniors before the game began: Duffy, Barrett Davis, Dan Carney, Ort, Beau Wilson, Chris Chung, McPartland, Kraymer Gullickson and Brant Knutson lined up on the field with family members before the game started to receive a red rose.
“One more exciting game on Monday,” Henderson said.
At Cascasde H.S.
Monroe2121001—791
Cascade2001000—364
Reppert and Judson. McPartland and Carney. WP—Reppert (5-2). LP—McPartland (3-4). 2B—Griesmer (M), Hastings (M), Reed (M), Meek (C). 3B— Duffy (C). Records—Monroe 11-4 league, 12-7 overall. Cascade 11-4, 11-8.
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