The Archbishop Thomas Murphy baseball team kept up its end of the bargain by sweeping its regular season series with Coupeville.
As a result of Friday Harbor’s split with LaConner, the Wildcats ended the regular season tied for second place with the Wolves.
But because it posted a better head-to-head record, Archbishop Murphy secured the league’s No. 2 berth to the regional playoffs.
“They (players) knew they had to win both games and just see back and see what happened with Friday Harbor,” Archbishop Murphy coach Ed Gay said.
Behind a two-hit, complete-game performance by junior Chris Mitchell, the Wildcats defeated Coupeville 4-1 in the first game May 7. Senior Nick Karthas was 2-for-2 with a two-run home and three RBI. Karthas then pitched a five-hit, complete-game to lead Archbishop Murphy to a 13-4 victory in the nightcap.
“We finished really strong,” Gay said. “We started out a .500 club for about the first four weeks.”
The Wildcats won eight of their last nine games.
“I’m very confident,” Gay said. “I’m very confident in how we’re playing.”
Up next for Archbishop Murphy is the single-elimination regional tournament, which is scheduled to start May 22.
Gay plans to keep his team busy during the two-week layoff.
“We’re practicing every day,” he said. “Right now we’re going to spend this week working on defense and … next week we’ll spend on offense.”
Several junior varsity players were brought up, so Archbishop Murphy will have enough players for a planned intersquad game.
Karthas, Mitchell and senior Jeff Arkell give the Wildcats a solid trio of starters. Arkell and Karthas will both be playing baseball in college. Arkell is headed to Edmonds Community College, while Karthas will be attending Merrimack College in Andover, Mass.
The pitching staff has been backed up with an offense that is sporting a sterling .331 team batting average and a defense that committed 19 errors in 20 games.
“(That) isn’t too bad for the season. Defensively, we did well,” Gay said. “Hitting was a big for us.”
The postseason is going to be a new experience for the Wildcats.
“It’s the bonus of having a successful … regular season,” Gay said. “Everybody starts from scratch. It’s anybody’s game.”
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