Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal Archive Edition

            Last night’s Mount Si baseball win over Mercer Island should hopefully open a lot of eyes not only around Kingco, but around the state.

            The Wildcats have had a strong start to the season, one which has them ranked in both major high school baseball polls in Washington, the Seattle Times’ and the Washington Baseball Poll, run by Lem Elway down at Black Hills High School. But, polls early in the season are, in our view, more a reflection of what a team did the previous season, and how much of that came back for this one on paper. And as all of you know, there are two factors that the polls don’t account for – one, the Wildcats’ poor showing at the Kingco Tournament last spring to dampen that solid 2010 run, and two, partially, we think, because of that, the fact that this team has a new coach.

            With Mercer Island being seen as possibly being the chief competitor to the Wildcats for the league crown, last night’s game needed to be seen by Mount Si as a statement game, one where they could eliminate any remaining doubt about how good this team can be. Yes, they are ranked, and yes, they have shown themselves to be worthy of these rankings. But the two factors we just mentioned allowed for enough doubt about how good this team really is. Until last night.

            Mount Si pounded out the hits – 11. Dustin Breshears tripled. A couple of doubles were hit as well. But the two factors we haven’t made much mention of yet were even bigger factors last night. Strong pitching and excellent baserunning. Reece Karalus pitched an efficient complete game performance, firing a three-hitter and striking out seven. Mount Si as a team stole five more bases last night, extending their team total to 20. They stole home for the second straight game, and scored runs on passed balls.

            If these factors continue to shine the rest of the season, there’s no question that this team won’t simply be in the discussion for a Kingco title. It may be in one for a state title.

            Wildcat coach Elliott Cribby hasn’t spared any expense to make this team a very exciting one to watch this season. Cribby has developed a very aggressive brand of baseball that complimented by the strong pitching and solid, experienced defense not only makes this team one of the best high school teams on the Eastside, but maybe one of the best in the entire state, if not entire Northwest.

            We would look for this team to continue on its torrid run the rest of the way. At this point it’s clear who the team to beat is in this league. A group of boys from the Valley showed why last night.