SHORELINE — The last thing Edmonds-Woodway High School senior Derek Callahan needed before stepping into the batters box for the most important at-bat of Tuesday afternoon’s 4A District 1 semifinal baseball game was an extra shot of adrenaline. But he got it anyway.
Callahan, one of three E-
W seniors who were hoping to beat Mariner High School and make their first trip to the state tournament, barely got out of the way of a sharp foul ball hit in his direction while standing in the on-deck circle in the fifth inning. Seconds later, he stood in the batters box and delivered the crushing blow with an RBI single to rightfield.
That hit tied the score and sparked an E-W rally that resulted in three runs, and a 3-1 win over the scrappy Marauders at Shorecrest High School.
“It was a big moment in the game,” Callahan said after the Warriors (16-6) clinched a berth in the state tournament and a meeting with Jackson in the district final. “I just wanted to produce for my team.”
Callahan’s one-out hit brought in Troy Rheinfold from second base and set up a controversial game-winning grounder from Ryan Budnick two batters later.
With the bases loaded following Mariner pitcher Alex Coffman’s third hit-by-pitch of the fifth inning, Budnick hit a sharp ground ball that was cleanly fielded by shortstop Niko Wallin and flipped to Tyler Coles for a putout at second base. As Coles tried to turn the double play, he was knocked flat by E-W baserunner Austin Jones.
Rather than the possibility of an inning-ending double play, which would have kept the score tied 1-1 heading into the sixth, the Warriors were able to score two runs on the play — the second coming when Callahan came in from second on Coles’s errant throw to first.
Mariner coach Eric Cole was livid about the lack of a runner-interference call, eventually earning a warning from the home plate umpire.
But rather than brood about that call after the game, Cole was more interested in praising the fortitude of his team during a trying week. Cole’s mother, Janet Reichert, came down with an unexpected illness last week and passed away Sunday, leaving his availability for this week in question. Cole decided to continue coaching with a heavy heart, only to be rewarded with a game ball by his players following the Marauders’ first-round win over Snohomish on Monday — a victory that is believed to be the first postseason win in the history of the Mariner program.
“I’m proud of them, no matter what,” said Cole, whose team will play Lake Stevens today and now needs to win three games to get to state. “We were two innings away from state. It’s not over yet.”
The Marauders (9-12) rode a strong pitching performance from Coffman until the right-hander seemed to run out of gas in the latter innings. He had a shutout going into the fifth, then got a little wild to help get the E-W offense going. Coffman allowed just two hits while striking out seven, and he got a big boost from third baseman Jaime Umbinetti’s nifty glovework for a pair of putouts in the bottom of the sixth.
The Warriors had a strong pitching performance of their own, with starter Ryan Budnick allowing just one run off five hits in six innings of work before Jones came on to close out the seventh.
Budnick helped himself with several crafty plays on groundballs, eventually earning four putouts in his final three innings of work.
“We’ve been practicing PFP’s a lot,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Dan Somoza said, referring to pitcher’s fielding practice, “and it paid off (Tuesday).”
Budnick was just happy to get out of Tuesday’s district semifinal with a win, a few days off and a guaranteed trip to the state tournament.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “It was our goal the whole year. Ever since I was in fifth or sixth grade, I watched this team play and had a dream to put on the Warrior uniform and play for a state title.”
Mariner’s Cole, despite his heavy heart and the controversial call, is happy to have a chance to get back into the state tournament picture as well.
“When I got this team two years ago, they were 2-18,” he said. “To get to this point, it really does speak to the character of this team.”
At Shorecrest H.S.
Mariner 001 000 0–1 5 1
Edmonds-Woodway 000 030 x–3 2 1`
Alex Coffman and Jacob Parra; Ryan Budnick, Austin Jones (7) and Tate Budnick. WP–R.Budnick. LP–Coffman. 2B–EW: Patrick Bernard. Records–Mariner 9-12 overall. Edmonds-Woodway 16-6.
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