EVERETT
A week after beating Jackson, then considered by some to be the best team in the state of Washington, the Shorecrest baseball team has since played like mere mortals.
Mariner jumped all over Shorecrest early en route to an 11-4 win April 17 at Mariner High School. Shorecrest lost its third consecutive game, after a two-game sweep by Meadowdale.
The Marauders took a 5-0 lead in the first inning, getting three hits and capitalizing on three errors by the Scots.
“We didn’t want to come out flat,” Mariner center fielder Luke Terwilliger said. “We wanted to come out high-paced and energized.”
Mariner added four runs in the second inning on three hits, assisted by two errors and two walks.
“We looked good in practice and we came out and play like this,” center fielder Grady Small said. “I don’t think our heads are all the way in it.”
Mariner improved to 3-6 in the Western Conference South Division and 5-8 overall while Shorecrest fell to 3-8 in the conference and 5-8 overall.
“We had a bad day on defense,” Small said. “Usually that’s our strong point.”
In the first, Shorecrest starter Riley Reynolds issued a one-out walk to Terwilliger.
Terwilliger moved to second when first baseman Bobby White dropped a pickoff throw from Reynolds and scampered to third on a wild pitch. Mariner’s Braden Degamo singled to drive in Terwilliger.
Taylor Cohn rapped a two-out infield single and pitcher Dustin Miloff followed with an RBI double. Shortstop Chad Morrison committed an error on a grounder by Steven Weable that allowed Cohn and Miloff to score. Weable came home after Small, the center fielder, called off right fielder Stefan Orallo, and then couldn’t get to C.J. Degamo’s fly ball.
In the second, catcher Pierce Rankin threw out Terwilliger trying to steal second but also committed a throwing error that allowed a runner to advance. A fielding error by third baseman Willie Davies allowed a run to score. Miloff rapped a two-run single and Weable followed with an RBI double to give Mariner a 9-0 lead.
Reynolds said he was trying to mix up his pitches, his fastball and changeup, but had trouble finding his slider early in the game.
The poor fielding though helped Mariner build a lead that proved to be insurmountable.
“We got a lot of ground balls,” Reynolds said. “The errors behind us killed us.”
Shorecrest rallied for three runs in the fourth. A two-run double by Davies scored Orallo and Small. Reynolds smacked a double to center that scored Davies.
Mariner’s Jaren Saga ripped a two-run home run to center off Reynolds in the fourth to make it 11-3. Small added an RBI double in the fifth for Shorecrest.
Shorecrest outhit Mariner eight to seven but weren’t as opportunistic as Mariner was.
“We got a lot of timely hitting. That was the key and great defense,” Mariner assistant coach Steve Rush said.
The Marauders turned three double plays and committed only one error.
Shorecrest has hit 11 home runs this season, but through April 13 was only batting .232 as a team. The Scots are only averaging 3.85 runs per game through 13 games.
“Right now guys who can hit balls out are trying to hit balls out instead getting base hits,” Small said.
The Scots, who played Mariner at home April 18, hope to turn around what’s been a disappointing season aside from the win over Jackson.
“Once we’re in the playoffs we’ll forget the season,” Reynolds said.
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