T Baker, Thompson go 4 for 4 as Spartans stay hot coming back from spring break. Fastpitchers continue streak, beat Prep

After the Bainbridge-Seattle Prep game was completed, it was a new sight to see the other team stay on and practice.

“We had to do that a few times in my first year,” Bainbridge head coach Liz McCloskey said.

There’s a big difference from this year than in years past, as the Spartans blew out the Panthers 15-0 in four innings on Monday.

The victory runs their win streak to nine games.

Bainbridge scored three runs in the first two innings, then put nine on the board in the fourth to envoke the mercy rule.

Haylee Baker got the start and shut out the Panthers for her third win of the year, allowing no hits and just two runners all game on a walk and a hit batsman.

She struck out seven.

Baker also went 4 for 4 with a double, a triple, four runs scored and an RBI.

Cara Thompson also went 4 for 4 with four RBI’s and four runs scored.

Lindsay Willmann was 2 for 3 with a home run, three RBI’s and a run scored while Chelsie Kakela was 2 for 2 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI.

While there were too many strikeouts for McCloskey’s liking (Panther pitcher Jessica Bladow struck out 10) she was happy that the team came back from spring break and played well.

“These are the teams where we try something new,” she said, noting that she puts players in different positions in games like these to see where everyone fits in. “It’s not that tough, but at the same time the girls still have to work and get the hits they need and move the runners along.”

They’ve moved runners along by scoring 104 runs on 119 hits in 44 innings while giving up just five runs in those 44 innings.

But the schedule gets a bit harder, starting with Bishop Blanchet on Wednesday.

“We have to play everyday now,” McCloskey said. “It’s going to be a challenge everyday and it’s going to be a game everyday.

“Eastside Catholic, Nathan Hale, Ingraham, Holy Names, Lakeside... we’re not going to take those teams lightly,” she continued. “We’re going to play them like we play everyone else.”

McCloskey won’t let them take anybody lightly.

“I tell them everyday it doesn’t matter what the name on the shirt is – you have to be ready to play everyday and you have to be aggressive everyday,” she said. “The biggest thing I remind them of everyday is to take it one game at a time.”

Bainbridge travels to face the Braves at 4 p.m. Wednesday, then head back to Seattle Friday to play Seattle Prep.

The next home game is April 18 against Lakeside.

Bad breaks eat at Spart hardballers

It’ll go down as one of the more eventful half-innings in the season.

But the Bainbridge baseball team weren’t happy with the way the events played out in their 11-1 loss to Seattle Prep Monday.

The Spartans – ranked ninth in the latest Washington State Coaches Association 3A baseball poll – lost the services of centerfielder Colin Bowman for one game after he was tossed in the first inning.

After Andy Bethel homered in their half of the first off of starter Gary French, Bowman countered with a bomb to left field – or so everyone had thought.

After Prep protested that the ball had rolled under the fence and after the umpires talked to the Panther leftfielder, the call was changed to a ground-rule double.

Mario McLaughlin sacrificed him to third, but Taruean Yamada hit a grounder to the pitcher and Bowman was caught too far off the bag.

He tried to score, but was tagged out, then thrown out of the game by the umpire who felt Bowman had tried to knock the ball out of the catcher’s hand.

Bowman said he was simply trying to avoid the tag.

“The guy’s trying to tag me so I’m trying to brush his arm away,” he said. “Why would I try to knock the ball away?

“I didn’t agree with the call.”

Head coach Jayson Gore was upset about the calls as well.

“It was over the fence,” he said of Bowman’s hit. “It was definitely over the fence.

“I have a problem with (hiring) umpires to make calls and then it results in the outfielder on the other team who determines whether the ball was or wasn’t over the fence.”

Gore said he will file a complaint over what happened in Monday’s game.

It was all Prep after the first inning, with the Panthers scoring two in the second on a two-run single by Paul Twining, then scoring seven in the third on six hits off of French and reliever Willie Green.

Will Martin scored the Spartans’ lone run when he reached on an error, then scored on a fielder’s choice.

Gore was also upset that he had to insert a not yet 100 percent Colin Feldtman into the game to replace Bowman, then watch him get hit in the helmet with a pitch in the second inning.

“It is what it is,” he said. “We’re patching it together right now, but when we get healthy, we’ll get better.”

Bowman concurred.

“I’ve never seen a team have more unfortunate things happen to them, but I think we’re playing pretty good. We’re keeping out head up out there.”

Both teams combined to make five errors on the day.

The Spartans had just one batter strike out.

Bainbridge plays at Bishop Blanchet Wednesday, then travel back to Seattle Friday to play Prep.

The next home game is April 18 against Lakeside.

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