EVERETT
Usually when a baseball team commits six errors in a game, it can count on trudging away from a painful defeat.
But for the resilient Lake Stevens Vikings, an unusually sloppy defensive effort was just another hurdle on their way to a comeback victory.
Lake Stevens accumulated six errors through four innings but used a six-run, second-inning eruption and solid pitching from starter Darren Iseri to defeat Edmonds-Woodway 9-4 on May 8. Iseri allowed one earned run and three hits in five-plus innings to propel Lake Stevens in the winner-to-state Class 4A District 1 tournament game at Everett Memorial Stadium.
“He could easily have just gone in the tank … but he had great focus and pitched his tail off,” Lake Stevens coach Rodger Anderson said of Iseri, who improved his season record to 4-1.
Wesco North No. 1 seed Lake Stevens (18-4 overall) committed back-to-back errors that allowed the first two batters of the game to reach base. Edmonds-Woodway scored three runs in the top of the first, but Lake Stevens recovered.
“We might have got a rough start, but we came back. I knew we would,” Iseri said.
Middle infielders Brett Dvorak and Travis Egbert had two hits apiece for Lake Stevens, which plays Snohomish for the district championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial. The victor earns a No. 1 seed and the chance to host a first-round state tourney game May 19 in Everett.
Lake Stevens, the co-Wesco North champion, had previously never qualified for the 4A state tourney. Its last appearance came in 2001, when the Vikings made the last of six straight 3A appearances.
“It feels great,” Iseri said. “It’s always been my dream to go to state.”
But the dream is far from complete.
“We’re definitely not satisfied,” Anderson said. “Our goal is to make it to state and do some damage.”
After falling behind early, Lake Stevens rallied to take a 6-3 lead following a six-run eruption in the second inning. The Vikings had five hits — all singles — and sent 12 batters to the plate during the outburst.
Lake Stevens tied it 3-3 when Dvorak drove in Josh White with a bloop hit to left field. Egbert later scored to make it 4-3 when Alex Bruun hit into a fielder’s choice.
E-W (16-6), the Wesco South No. 2 seed, plays Kamiak in a loser-out game on Wednesday, after The Enterprise’s deadline. The Warriors scored just once after the first inning. Drew Lockhart led the offense with two RBI, both of which came on a first-inning double to right-center field.
“We stopped hitting after the first inning. We got one hit after that,” said E-W coach Matt Barker, who didn’t count a relatively meaningless seventh-inning base hit in his assessment. “Regardless of what happened with our pitching and defensive situation, we didn’t get (enough) hits.”
Lake Stevens, which has won five straight games, improved its season record against E-W to 2-0. The Vikings prevailed 6-5 March 30 in a non-division game in Edmonds.
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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