The Pirates varsity baseball team lost a heartbreaker to Seattle Christian 8-7 on the Warriors’ home field on April 27.
As the rain fell, the Pirates batted around in the top of the second inning to take a five-run lead. The inning included five base-on-balls issued by Seattle Christian pitchers and base hits by Wes Paulsen and Peter Johnson.
The Warriors scored one run in the bottom of the second. Vashon missed scoring opportunities in the top of the third and fourth when runners on base were tagged out on running and hitting mistakes.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors scored one and threatened more, but an outstanding double play by shortstop Matt Amick, second baseman Julian Smith and first baseman Paulsen ended the threat. Peter Johnson walked to lead off the sixth inning and scored on a hit by Amick to give Vashon a 6-2 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Warriors scored three to tighten the score to 6-5.
In the top of the seventh, the Pirates scored two on a base hit by Paulsen, a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Bernheisel, a double by Matt Dick and a Warrior shortstop error.
In the bottom of the inning, Julian Smith relieved Bernheisel, but struggled, facing the heart of the Seattle Christian lineup. Amick relieved Smith, but not before Seattle Christian had scored one run and had another runner on second base.
The next Warrior batter to step into the box connected on a belt-high fastball and sent it over the centerfield fence for a two-run walk-off home run to give Seattle Christian an 8-7 win.
JVs finish season on high note
The Pirate JVs defeated Steilacoom on April 29 at the Vashon field. It was a 13-6 victory in the team’s final game of the year.
Steilacoom scored first in the second after a couple of walks, a wild pitch and a hit. They scored four before the inning was over.
Vashon loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but did not score. The Pirates stranded six runners in the first four innings.
Dustin Corthell came in and held Steilacoom to one unearned run for the next two innings. The Pirates were down 5-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.
Rowan Stewart started the fifth getting on by an error. Erik Powelson followed with a nice single, and Fletcher Garrison followed that with a line drive off the left center field fence to move Powelson to third and score Stewart for Vashon’s first run of the game.
After a strikeout, Kelly Sullivan hit an RBI groundout to second to plate Powelson. That would end the scoring for the fifth, but the Pirates broke loose in the bottom of the sixth for 11 runs.
A combination of four walks, eight hits and an error contributed to the scoring barrage. Powelson struck out the side in the top of the seventh to preserve the well-fought victory.
“It was a great way to finish out the JV season,” said Coach Joe Wald. “We executed plays when asked, played great defense and were very patient at the plate. They knew that if they kept hitting the ball hard, good things were going to happen. They encouraged their teammates throughout the entire game and never gave up.”
— Rita Allman does Web and team support for the Pirate baseball team.
