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Friday, May 16, 2014 • Port Orchard Independent
South Kitsap secure berth to regionals McCarty retires final 13 hitters in 6-0 win
whose team has won seven consecutive games. “They know what we’re playing for. They knew [this game] was the big one. You’ve got to get to Saturday. It’s crucial as far as the seeds go. Immature teams probably don’t get through [this game] and then they make the road through a lot tougher.”
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR Sports Editor
TACOMA — South Kitsap pitcher Mac McCarty is becoming the exception to the theory that there are no certainties in sports. The Wolves’ junior right-hander won for the ninth time in as many starts with a 6-0 victory Tuesday against Tahoma in the Class 4A West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament at Bellarmine Prep. South (18-4), which next plays at 10 a.m. Saturday against Battle Ground at Kent Memorial, earned an automatic berth to regionals, which begin May 24. McCarty, who has allowed one earned run this season, again was dominant. He threw 58 of 87 pitches for strikes en route to a complete game three-hitter. McCarty struck out eight batters. And he did it in different fashion than usual. “They’re a little bit better competition than we’ve seen, so I had to change it up a lot more,” McCarty said. “Not so many fastballs.” He still threw his pitches from a variety of arm angles in an effort to confound hitters. But Logue felt McCarty needed to do even more. Through scouting the Bears, Logue noticed the top five batters in the lineup were first-pitch fastball hitters. “We’re going to throw them the slider and then we’re going to speed it up to keep them off balanced,” he said. The Wolves needed that early as Tahoma right-hander Jake Lambro had little difficulty stymieing South. That changed during the fourth inning, though. With one out, four consecutive Wolves singled off Lambro. The final hit — a flare to shallow right field by junior second baseman Hudson Kimple — pro-
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South Kitsap junior Mac McCarty has helped the Wolves both at the plate and on the mound. Behind the right-hander’s three-hitter on Tuesday, South opened the Class 4A West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament with a 6-0 win against Tahoma at Bellarmine Prep. duced two runs. It was just the start. Senior Logan Knowles led off the fourth inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by McCarty. Designated hitter Tyler Ludlow then walked and catcher Tyler Pinkerton followed with a single to load the bases. Knowles scored during the ensuing at-bat on a sacrifice fly to center field by senior Tanner Paulson. It appeared South would have to settle for a 3-0 lead when sophomore third baseman Hunter Riley hit a routine grounder to shortstop. But Daniel Nist’s throw to first base was errant, which allowed Ludlow to score. That also enabled Kimple and classmate Cooper Canton to follow with consecutive RBI singles to give the Wolves their final runs. The latter came off left-handed reliever Brandon Fokkema. “It seemed like he ran out of gas and we finally got a hold of it,” said McCarty, referring to Lambro. Logue, noting a diving stop by Nist during the second inning, felt his team was unlucky early.
“We were hitting the ball and they were making great plays,” he said. “We knew as a team that we could hit that guy — it was going to come and we just had to be patient and resilient.” When that happened it was more than enough support for McCarty, who retired the final 13 batters of the contest. He has not allowed an earned run since April 7 against Yelm. Despite McCarty’s success, Logue said he noticed his players were anxious during school Tuesday. “There was a little bit of nerves in the halls at school,” he said. “I could see a little bit. I stopped them in the locker room and said, ‘It’s a Tuesday of baseball. If you treat it that way you’re going to be happy with the result.’ Like I’ve said all season it’s a really mature group.” Even with several players returning from last season’s team that finished second in the 4A state tournament, Logue said he was not surprised that some were nervous before Tuesday’s game. “I saw it coming,” said Logue,
• South Kitsap 4, Gig Harbor 1: Behind a fourth-inning grand slam by Pinkerton, South defeated Gig Harbor for a third time this season to capture the Class 4A Narrows League Tournament championship for a second consecutive season Friday at Lacey’s Regional Athletic Complex. Logue said afterward that he had no doubt that his team could motivate itself for the tournament after already defeating every 4A Narrows team twice this year. The Wolves finished 14-0 in league play — their first perfect record in Narrows play since 2000. “I think these kids are really intelligent,” Logue said. “A lot of this is their hard work and focus. They’re motivated and they love this game.” The Wolves put themselves in that position when Pinkerton broke a scoreless tie with one out in the third inning by hitting a first-pitch fastball from right-handed starter Drew Gallinger over the fence in left field. It was a welcomed development for Logue, who felt his team was not aggressive enough during their 4-0 nonleague win Tuesday at Olympic to finish the regular season. “It was perfect,” he said. “When you get a fastball go for it. Get the bat off the shoulder.” Seniors Conner Sharp and Knowles opened the inning with singles — the latter coming on a bunt. McCarty then moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt before Ludlow was intentionally walked. Pinkerton said he was not thinking about Ludlow being walked to get to him. “I was just excited for my next atbat,” he said. Logue had a different perspective. “They walked Luds and I know that’s kind of a slap in the face for Pink,” he said. Logue said the grand slam “took the pressure off” his team in an unfamiliar environment. In addition to the customary player introductions that occur during the postseason, the RAC’s infield is turf. While adjusting to faster moving grounders, Canton committed two errors at shortstop during the first inning. Those issues later subsided as Canton started a double play in the fifth inning. “Cooper did a great job at short,”
Logue said. “He had the first couple [errors] in the first inning … but it’s great that happened early in the game because I think a big thing with these guys — and I think they talk about it a lot — is being able to deal with adversity.” The only adversity South faced occurred in the sixth inning when Michael Toglia hit a one-out triple for the Tides (13-7) to right-center field. During the ensuing atbat, Joe Burghardt doubled to right field to score Toglia. That ended a streak of 36 scoreless innings since the Wolves’ 8-4 win April 24 at Olympia. South’s pitchers entered the game with three consecutive shutouts and seven for the season. Knowles attributes that to a mature approach, which included rain that resulted in a 5-minute delay at one point. “I actually kind of like pitching in the rain,” he said. “Whatever issues you face you just have to play through them.” Logue said that mentality is one reason why he felt his team would go undefeated in league play as soon as they lost last year’s state championship, 8-5, against Skyview in Pasco. “I said last year to [assistant coach Nick] Kenyon that this group’s smart enough and mature enough that we should go undefeated in league,” he said. “They’re able to handle it that way.” Even when it means proving — once again — that his team is the best in 4A Narrows. “I like the pressure,” said Logue, referring to the league tournament. “It shows that you’re the number one team.” Tuesday West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament At Bellarmine Prep
South Kitsap 6, Tahoma 0 Tahoma 000 000 0 - 0 3 2 South Kitsap 000 240 x - 6 11 0 Jake Lambro, Brandon Fokkema (5), Derek Browne (6) and Matthew Thompson. Mac McCarty and Tyler Pinkerton. Leading hitters-Logan Knowles (SK) 2-4 run, Hudson Kimple (SK) 2-3 3 RBI, Tyler Pinkerton (SK) 2-4 2 runs. Friday Narrows League Tournament
South Kitsap 4, Gig Harbor 1 Gig Harbor 000 001 0 - 1 6 1 South Kitsap 000 400 x - 4 7 2 Drew Gallinger and Mark Sluys. Logan Knowles and Tyler Pinkerton. W-Knowles. L-Gallinger. Leading hitter-Tyler Pinkerton (SK) 1-2 BB HR 4 RBI.