<< Previous   of   Next >> Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Edmonds-Woodway shortstop Sam Storino (left) waits for the throw from home plate as Mountlake Terrace baserunner Andrew Woeck slides safely into second base during a Wesco South Division game April 9 at Mountlake Terrace High School. The Hawks beat the Warriors 1-0. Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Mountlake Terrace shortstop Andrew Woeck fields a grounder and then throws to first base to record the out. Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Mountlake Terrace pitcher Bryce Wilkening (23) and first baseman Alex Hatch (24) celebrate their victory over Edmonds-Woodway April 9 at Mountlake Terrace High School.

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Hawks, Warriors split series

Woeck makes a key play to lead Hawks to 1-0 win

By David Pan
Enterprise Sports editor

Not much separates the Edmonds-Woodway and Mountlake Terrace baseball teams.

So it came as no surprise that the two schools split their two-game series with the Warriors winning 4-1 on April 7 and the Hawks claiming a 1-0 victory on April 9.

The latter contest was a pitchers' duel as Mountlake Terrace senior Aaron Brooks shut down Edmonds-Woodway.

“Brooks pitched an amazing game,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Dan Somoza said.

The Warriors had a chance to score what would have been the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning. Edmonds-Woodway had runners on second and third and hit a hard grounder into the hole at shortstop. Senior Andrew Woeck, however, made a backhanded grab and fired a one-hopper to first base to end the threat.

“It was one heck of a play,” Mountlake Terrace coach Andrew Watters said. “Unquestionably Andrew is the leader of the team in every way. He's a three-year letterman. He's just a fabulous player and a good leader for our young team.”

Brooks was in command from the start of Friday's game.

“He threw strikes,” Watters said. “He had a nice mix of pitches. He located well. I think he just pitched his game and he was really tough.”

The Mountlake Terrace senior allowed only four hits in the complete-game performance. His counterpart, senior Blaine Liukko, also had a solid effort on the mound, allowing only three hits.

“Both pitchers pitched really well,” Watters said. “Neither team really got anything going except for Edmonds-Woodway in the last inning.”

Mountlake Terrace scored the game's only run in the third inning when junior Keegan Volpone grounded out to drive in sophomore Chris Hall, who had reached first base on an error. Woeck subsequently was hit by a pitch and both runners moved up a base when senior Chris Raunio executed a sacrifice bunt.

“That's how we play,” Watters said of the bunt. “We have a young lineup. We've actually, as a team, have done a good job of getting bunts down. That's part of our game. Call it small ball or whatever. That's the type of game we need to play to succeed.”

Mountlake Terrace improved to 4-3 in the league and 6-4 overall. The Hawks finished the week third in the 4A standings. The top four teams advance to the postseason.

Edmonds-Woodway fell to 3-4 and 5-5 and was fifth among the 4A schools. The Warriors, however, were swept by Mariner, one of the teams ahead of them in the standings.

“Our backs are kind of against the wall,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Dan Somoza said. “We're going to see what we're made of. We've got to come out and play with intensity. We haven't hit well the last couple of weeks, but I believe in our players.”

In the first game of the series, Edmonds-Woodway senior Derek Callahan scattered five hits and struck out nine to lead the Warriors to the victory. He also was 2-for-3 at the plate. The Warriors took advantage of a couple of Mountlake Terrace errors.

“They were two very close and very exciting games,” Somoza said.

Edmonds-Woodway managed only four hits against three Mountlake Terrace pitchers. After putting up 27 runs in their first two non-league games, the Warriors have only 31 runs in their subsequent eight games.

“Offensively, we need to be more aggressive and attack our pitches,” Somoza said. “We can't be defensive. We've got to have a little attitude. Hitting is infectious.”

Watters wants his club to shore up its defense, which was the downfall in the first game against Edmonds-Woodway. All four runs were unearned.

“We pitched well enough to win,” he said. “We just didn't quite play good defense. … It's one of the areas we're looking to improve on. We're getting there.”

The Hawks also have struggled at the plate but some of that is due to the stellar pitching they've faced. The team's relative youth also is a factor.

“Edmonds-Woodway did a good job of shutting us down offensively,” Watters said. “We feel good we got our split with Edmonds-Woodway. We're looking forward to moving on. We're in a great position.”

Mountlake Terrace travels to Meadowdale for a 4 p.m. April 14 game and then hosts Jackson at 4 p.m. April 16.

Edmonds-Woodway travels to Lynnwood for a 4 p.m. April 14 contest and then hosts Meadowdale at 4 p.m. April 16.

Somoza urged his players to relax and have fun the rest of the way.

“We want to put it all out on the ball field and don't hold anything back,” Somoza said. “We talked about attacking the ball.”

Watters feels comfortable with his younger players, who continue to progress as they get more playing time.

“We're just finding our way out there,” he said. “It's something you expect with our young ball club. … We're continuing to move forward and to grow and to get better. These young kids are working really hard.”