Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal Archive Edition

                The Mount Si baseball team came into last night’s league title game looking to exorcise the demons of the past. The Wildcats had not made state since 1997, and two golden opportunities to punch state berths since then, in 2005 and last year, both fell short with collapses in the Kingco Tournament, collapses which were likely factors in the program’s coaching changes both following the 2007 season (Gary McGregor let go, replaced by Chaz Carr) and last year (Carr let go, replaced by Elliott Cribby). This year’s senior class has been out on a mission: to forget about all that and bring home glory. And they did just that.

                Dustin Breshears’ single scored Ryan Atkinson from third with the game’s lone run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Wildcats to a thrilling 1-0 win over Lake Washington at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue which earned Mount Si the Kingco Tournament title and the SeaKing’s #1 berth to state, which means their regional play next Saturday will also be at Bannerwood.

                The game was a pitcher’s duel between Mount Si’s Reece Karalus and Lake Washington’s Spencer Jackson. The two of them dueled in the Wildcats and Kangs’ only other meeting of the season, April 15, with Karalus getting the win there giving up just one run on five hits. Karalus was even better last night, pitching a gritty complete-game three-hitter and surviving a scare in the top of the eighth, where he gave up a two-out single to LW’s Nori Shimizu only to see the Kang designated hitter then steal second and reach third on a balk called by umpires. But Karalus, running out of gas having thrown over 100 pitches, struck out the next hitter, Victor Mayorquin, to get Mount Si out of that jam.

                This set up the Wildcats in the bottom of the frame. Daniel Besmer singled to open the frame, then Ryan Atkinson, attempting to get Besmer into scoring position, hit into a fielder’s choice which saw Besmer forced at second. Even though the attempt didn’t work, what happened during the next at-bat made up for it. With Breshears up, he swung and missed on the first pitch. Atkinson attempted to steal second, and the throw there by LW to catch Atkinson stealing went awry, allowing the sophomore to reach third. After a ball was recorded on the next pitch, the third pitch of the at bat became the biggest charm for the Wildcats in over a decade.

                Breshears ripped the pitch into the outfield to score Atkinson and send Mount Si fans home very happy. The senior was one of seven different Wildcat hitters to get a hit in the contest, but his hit was the biggest one of all.

                Mount Si plays next weekend at Bannerwood in state regionals, with the loser being out. Game time and opponent are to be announced.

Wildcats reach title game with offensive wake-up call against Islanders              
                Mount Si reached last night’s title game with a 5-0 win over MI in the semifinals Thursday. Tim Proudfoot and Trevor Lane each had two hits, and Lane shut down the Islanders on the mound, with a complete-game four-hit shutout. The Wildcats scored three runs in the third to take control of the contest, then rode Lane’s arm the rest of the way to get things done.