YAKIMA — After an exhausting but dominant stint on the mound May 28 at Yakima County Stadium, Archbishop Murphy senior Nick Karthas figured he would let someone else be the hero.
But as he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning, he thought the least he could do was set the stage for the Wildcats’ 1-0 1A semifinal victory over Concrete.
After a morning of gritty pitching that would make any collegiate hurler green with envy, Karthas opened the inning with a booming double. The ball landed on the warning track some 390 feet from the plate. If Karthas had hit the ball to any other part of the park, it would have been a walk-off home run.
Instead, his battery mate, catcher Alex Burch, struck the decisive blow, slapping the ball into the gap on the first pitch. Jake Lyons, who had been inserted as a pinch-runner for Karthas, scampered home as the Murphy dugout on the first base side emptied and dashed en masse toward the plate.
Lyons’ run was all Archbishop Murphy needed.
“I wanted to let someone else be the hero,” Karthas said with a smile, gingerly moving his right arm, an appendage he would shortly apply ice to.
That the game ended 1-0 was appropriate given the pitching efforts of Karthas and Concrete’s Kyle Wilson.
Each went the distance. Karthas, who threw 144 pitches, scattered six hits, struck out seven and had stretches where he retired 12 and 10 consecutive hitters.
Karthas’ only loss in an 8-1 senior season came in a 5-2 decision to Concrete, a game where Burch and right fielder Ben Shively were not available.
Wilson’s numbers were a near-mirror image of Karthas’. Wilson allowed seven hits, struck out six and faced just four batters over the minimum through nine innings.
“I couldn’t believe the pitching,” Archbishop Murphy coach Ed Gay said. “After eight innings, you have to think those kids are pitching on adrenaline.
“I’ve never seen two kids put on a battle like that.”
It didn’t start out like it would be a pitching battle. Joe Peninger and Brandon Hoover both singled sharply for Concrete to open the game. But Karthas quickly put a stop to any Lions thoughts of a slugfest, inducing Wilson to hit a grounder to the left of the mound that shortstop Jeff Arkell grabbed, stepped on second base and zipped a throw to first for a double play.
Peninger would be the only Lions runner to reach third base.
The pitchers settled down after that. Wilson retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced and wasn’t in trouble until the seventh when Brian Mitchell doubled and Ian Telge singled with two outs. Brent McCann lined to second baseman Lukas Taylor to end the threat.
The Wildcats had a chance in the 11th when Tony Ackerman doubled to right field with two out. Arkell flied out to right field to end the inning.
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