MOUNTLAKE TERRACE
Mountlake Terrace junior Aaron Brooks might have a little flair for the dramatic.
Making his first varsity appearance against Edmonds-Woodway in relief, Brooks protected a one-run lead against an opponent that Terrace will be battling for playoff position and picked up the first save of his high school career.
“I knew I’d be coming in – I didn’t know I’d be coming in with a one-run lead,” Brooks said. “I was pretty nervous … I knew I’d get it though.”
Brooks pitched two scoreless innings of relief, senior Derek Giles singled in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning and Mountlake Terrace rallied from an early three-run deficit to defeat Edmonds-Woodway 7-6 in a Western Conference South Division baseball game April 8 at Mountlake Terrace High School.
“It’s exciting for him and for the program,” Mountlake Terrace coach Andrew Watters said of Brooks, who faced just six batters over the sixth and seventh innings. “He’s worked hard for three years.”
Starting pitcher Kyle Barisic picked up the win and improved to 2-1 on the season after striking out five E-W batters over five innings. E-W pitcher Brandon Lowe took the loss in relief.
It was a much-needed win for Mountlake Terrace, which was considered by many a preseason favorite to win the highly-competitive Wesco South, but which lost to league rivals Kamiak and Shorewood this past week.
Wednesday’s victory didn’t come easy.
Edmonds-Woodway, fresh off a 24-0 victory over Mariner High School on Tuesday, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Derek Callahan (3-for-4) hit a solo home run to open the game and Blaine Luikko (2-for-3) smacked a two-run home run later in the inning. Both Callahan and Luikko also doubled later in the game.
Mountlake Terrace, coming off demoralizing losses to league rivals, had every excuse to quit that shaky start, but didn’t.
The Hawks scored three runs in the bottom of the first to tie it, powered by a triple from first-baseman Karsten Strieby and a double from catcher Paul Clingan.
“A lot of us have been playing together since we were 10,” Clingan said of his team, which boasts 13 seniors. “It helps in terms of picking each other up and in terms of chemistry.”
Mountlake Terrace couldn’t take the lead until a two-run rally in the fifth. Andrew Woeck doubled to drive in one run, then scored off a single by Giles for a 7-6 advantage. From there, Brooks took over and shut down Edmonds-Woodway the rest of the way.
The win moved Mountlake Terrace into a tie with Edmonds-Woodway for fourth place in the Wesco South among 4A teams behind Jackson, Kamiak, and Shorewood. The fourth-place team plays a district play-in game. There is no postseason for a fifth-place team.
“It’s as tough as I’ve ever seen it,” Watters said of the Wesco South. “It says a lot that everyone has at least one loss already. … There’s a lot of parity. … We’re in a legitimate race for the playoffs. … We’re trying not to look (ahead) and get off track.”
Mountlake Terrace had a slightly later start than other teams this year because many of its players participated in the basketball program’s run to state.
“We’re definitely pumped up,” Brooks said of the win. “We can get some momentum off that.”
Alex Bosworth writes for The Herald in Everett.
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