EVERETT — With a chance to qualify for the state tournament on the line, the Mountlake Terrace baseball team’s hopes rested on the bat of Ryan Sells, who was retired in his first four at-bats Tuesday.
With one swing, Sells erased some bad memories and launched the Hawks to victory.
Sells lined a game-winning, run-scoring double down the left-field line that drove in Matt Shafer and lifted Mountlake Terrace to a 5-4, extra-inning triumph over Shorewood.
Kyle Barisic pitched all nine innings for Terrace (16-6), which edged Shorewood (13-9) in the winner-to-state Class 4A District 1 semifinal at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“I was just having a bad game. I just wanted … to bring that one down the line and try to make it smooth,” said Sells.
Terrace, the Western Conference South Division No. 1 seed, plays Marysville-Pilchuck for the district championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium. The game will determine who gets the district’s top seed for the state tourney. M-P (15-6), the Wesco North No. 3 seed, beat North No. 1 Snohomish 6-4 Tuesday.
Terrace, which led 2-0 before falling behind 4-2 and rallying to tie it, qualified for state for the third time in two seasons. Barisic (6-0) played a huge role. He allowed four runs on seven hits but kept battling. The effort impressed Terrace coach Andrew Watters.
“He did it again and he’s done it all year. He’s awfully tough,” Watters said.
Barisic worked several quick innings and stayed within his predetermined pitch count but the ninth inning was definitely his last, even if the game had continued, said Watters.
“The way he threw that last two innings I was going to stick with him. That was going to be his last inning. … He really deserves a tip of the hat,” Watters said.
Asked how his right (pitching) arm felt after the game, Barisic smiled and said: “Pretty good. I could go another one.”
Shorewood plays Edmonds-Woodway (12-10) in a loser-out game at 4 p.m. today at Everett Memorial Stadium. Four teams (Shorewood, E-W, Snohomish and Monroe) are fighting for the district’s final state-tourney berth.
“It’ll be tough,” to recover, Shorewood coach Wyatt Tonkin said, “but the kids have fought hard all year to get here and we just look at it (as) every day that we can play baseball is a blessing from the Lord God.”
Terrace took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Karsten Strieby’s two-run double. His hard drive into the gap in left-center field brought home Craig Heath and Andrew Woeck.
Shorewood scored four consecutive runs over the third and fourth innings for a 4-2 lead. Terrace answered with two unearned runs in the fifth to tie it.
In the top of the seventh Shorewood had a chance to take the lead. But Daniel Hammer was called out at third base after Terrace appealed that Hammer failed to touch second base when Hammer attempted to steal second and advanced to third on a throwing error.
The successful appeal play ended Shorewood’s at-bat. In the bottom half of the inning Thunderbirds’ relief pitcher Bobby LeCount escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Sells to pop out.
“Either way, win or lose, we played a great game,” said Shorewood’s Tonkin.
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Shorewood001300000—472
M. Terrace020020001—581
Clerget, Snell (7), LeCount (7) and Schaefer. Barisic and Clingan. WP-Barisic (6-0). LP-LeCount (3-6). 2B-Giles (S) 1, Strieby (MT) 1, R. Sells (MT) 1. Records-Shorewood 13-9 overall. Mountlake Terrace 16-6.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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