The Vashon High School Pirates baseball team completed Nisqually 1A/2B League play in second place by beating Seattle Christian 5-4 on Saturday, May 3.

Junior Chris Pieterick capped a remarkable day when he stroked a 2-2 pitch deep into the left-center gap for a walk-off game-winning triple in extra innings. The hit scored sophomore Joe Gilmour from first, where he had arrived following a solid single earlier in the inning.

Pieterick arrived late for the game because of a scheduling glitch in a prior commitment. After a brief warm-up, he was put on the mound to relieve senior Chris Allman in the top of the fifth. Allman had pitched in relief the night before but was assigned the starting role in Pieterick’s absence.

With the Pirates down 4-2 because of Pirate errors, Pieterick wasted no time in making his presence felt. Putting down the Warrior batters at the top of the inning, he came to the plate at the bottom and smashed the first pitch he saw over the 375 mark into dead center field.

In front of errorless Pirate defense, Pieterick held Seattle Christian scoreless over the final four innings for the win.

Earlier in the week, the Pirates struggled offensively in two games against the eventual league champion Orting Cardinals and split a doubleheader against the Chimacum Cowboys.

Senior ace Micah Deibell went the distance on the mound for the Pirates against the Orting Cardinals on Monday.

Dominating the usually potent Cardinal bats, Deibell struck out eight and held Orting to 2 hits and 1 earned run. The Pirates leaky defense, however, gave up 4 errors for 3 runs, and the Pirates could not get much going offensively. Their only run came on a solo home run by senior Justin Calhoun in the 4-1 loss.

The Pirates rebounded on Wednesday in the opener of a doubleheader against the Cowboys.

Seniors Tom Schumaker and Justin Calhoun each went 2 for 3 at the plate, including a double and a solo home run by Schumaker.

Deibell added a 2-run home run to deep right center in the third, while Allman and freshman Peter Johnson each tacked singles onto the Pirate attack.

By the time Pirate starting pitcher sophomore Wes Paulson was relieved by Pieterick in the fourth, he had been staked to a 5-2 lead. Pieterick closed out the Cowboys in two scoreless innings of relief to seal the 6-2 victory.

Pieterick turned around and re-took the mound in the second game against the Cowboys. The Pirates appeared lethargic from the start and only mustered one hit, from Johnson, and no runs, in losing the 2-0 decision.

The Pirate defense, again porous, suffered from three errors in the five-inning game, and the moments of defensive brilliance couldn’t make up the difference. Sophomore shortstop Matt Amick, second baseman Calhoun and senior first baseman Nathan Ott combined on two double plays in the game, and Pieterick, who went the distance on the hill, also picked off a Cowboy runner at first base.

Deibell returned to the mound at home against the Cardinals on Friday.

He pitched another brilliant game against the Cardinals who had already secured the Nisqually League crown. Holding them to 3 runs on only 6 hits, Deibell struck out 10 Cardinal batters. But the Pirate bats could come up with only 1 run on 4 hits in the 3-1 loss.

Pirate Coach Steve Hall lauded Deibell for his pitching over the long week. “He pitched incredibly well against a tough Orting team in both games. He is undoubtedly the best pitcher Orting has seen all year. To hold them to a handful of hits like he did is an incredible achievement.”

“And ‘Petey’ (Pieterick) really came through for us today (against Seattle Christian). What a great game he had with the bat and shutting them down from the mound. That was an important win for us. It puts us into position to need only one win to move on to regionals. Deibell should be rested by Wednesday’s game, which puts us in the driver’s seat. But we’ll need to provide him some more run support than he’s been getting.”

When asked about the Pirates overall chances in the post-season, Hall is optimistic. “Despite some problems this past week, we are healthy and looking stronger. We saw some production from our bats in our first game against Chimacum, and today. We just need to keep it up. And we need to stay focused on defense and eliminate errors against these good teams. The errors have killed us!”

As for the younger guys, who have recently been brought up from junior varsity, Hall remarks that they are being productive. “Peter (Johnson) is hitting around .400 on varsity. Gilmour came up with a key hit and scored the winning run today (against the Warriors). Theno had some great plays in the outfield, including nearly throwing out a runner at home.”

He notes the challenges these younger players face. “The Nisqually League is tough competition. Chimacum is the defending state champ. These guys have not seen pitchers who are as crafty or who throw as fast as they do at the varsity level in this league. It’s a big adjustment. They will benefit by this experience to help us out in the post season and over the coming years.”

The Pirates face Coupeville on Whidbey Island today. A win sends them on to the regional tournament in Anacortes on May 17. A loss will have them playing loser-out games through the tri-district tournament at Stanwood this coming weekend for a remaining spot at regionals.

The Vashon High School Pirates baseball team completed Nisqually 1A/2B League play in second place by beating Seattle Christian 5-4 on Saturday, May 3.

Junior Chris Pieterick capped a remarkable day when he stroked a 2-2 pitch deep into the left-center gap for a walk-off game-winning triple in extra innings. The hit scored sophomore Joe Gilmour from first, where he had arrived following a solid single earlier in the inning.

Pieterick arrived late for the game because of a scheduling glitch in a prior commitment. After a brief warm-up, he was put on the mound to relieve senior Chris Allman in the top of the fifth. Allman had pitched in relief the night before but was assigned the starting role in Pieterick’s absence.

With the Pirates down 4-2 because of Pirate errors, Pieterick wasted no time in making his presence felt. Putting down the Warrior batters at the top of the inning, he came to the plate at the bottom and smashed the first pitch he saw over the 375 mark into dead center field.

In front of errorless Pirate defense, Pieterick held Seattle Christian scoreless over the final four innings for the win.

Earlier in the week, the Pirates struggled offensively in two games against the eventual league champion Orting Cardinals and split a doubleheader against the Chimacum Cowboys.

Senior ace Micah Deibell went the distance on the mound for the Pirates against the Orting Cardinals on Monday.

Dominating the usually potent Cardinal bats, Deibell struck out eight and held Orting to 2 hits and 1 earned run. The Pirates leaky defense, however, gave up 4 errors for 3 runs, and the Pirates could not get much going offensively. Their only run came on a solo home run by senior Justin Calhoun in the 4-1 loss.

The Pirates rebounded on Wednesday in the opener of a doubleheader against the Cowboys.

Seniors Tom Schumaker and Justin Calhoun each went 2 for 3 at the plate, including a double and a solo home run by Schumaker.

Deibell added a 2-run home run to deep right center in the third, while Allman and freshman Peter Johnson each tacked singles onto the Pirate attack.

By the time Pirate starting pitcher sophomore Wes Paulson was relieved by Pieterick in the fourth, he had been staked to a 5-2 lead. Pieterick closed out the Cowboys in two scoreless innings of relief to seal the 6-2 victory.

Pieterick turned around and re-took the mound in the second game against the Cowboys. The Pirates appeared lethargic from the start and only mustered one hit, from Johnson, and no runs, in losing the 2-0 decision.

The Pirate defense, again porous, suffered from three errors in the five-inning game, and the moments of defensive brilliance couldn’t make up the difference. Sophomore shortstop Matt Amick, second baseman Calhoun and senior first baseman Nathan Ott combined on two double plays in the game, and Pieterick, who went the distance on the hill, also picked off a Cowboy runner at first base.

Deibell returned to the mound at home against the Cardinals on Friday.

He pitched another brilliant game against the Cardinals who had already secured the Nisqually League crown. Holding them to 3 runs on only 6 hits, Deibell struck out 10 Cardinal batters. But the Pirate bats could come up with only 1 run on 4 hits in the 3-1 loss.

Pirate Coach Steve Hall lauded Deibell for his pitching over the long week. “He pitched incredibly well against a tough Orting team in both games. He is undoubtedly the best pitcher Orting has seen all year. To hold them to a handful of hits like he did is an incredible achievement.”

“And ‘Petey’ (Pieterick) really came through for us today (against Seattle Christian). What a great game he had with the bat and shutting them down from the mound. That was an important win for us. It puts us into position to need only one win to move on to regionals. Deibell should be rested by Wednesday’s game, which puts us in the driver’s seat. But we’ll need to provide him some more run support than he’s been getting.”

When asked about the Pirates overall chances in the post-season, Hall is optimistic. “Despite some problems this past week, we are healthy and looking stronger. We saw some production from our bats in our first game against Chimacum, and today. We just need to keep it up. And we need to stay focused on defense and eliminate errors against these good teams. The errors have killed us!”

As for the younger guys, who have recently been brought up from junior varsity, Hall remarks that they are being productive. “Peter (Johnson) is hitting around .400 on varsity. Gilmour came up with a key hit and scored the winning run today (against the Warriors). Theno had some great plays in the outfield, including nearly throwing out a runner at home.”

He notes the challenges these younger players face. “The Nisqually League is tough competition. Chimacum is the defending state champ. These guys have not seen pitchers who are as crafty or who throw as fast as they do at the varsity level in this league. It’s a big adjustment. They will benefit by this experience to help us out in the post season and over the coming years.”

The Pirates face Coupeville on Whidbey Island today. A win sends them on to the regional tournament in Anacortes on May 17. A loss will have them playing loser-out games through the tri-district tournament at Stanwood this coming weekend for a remaining spot at regionals.