Defeat is something the fifth-ranked Skyline baseball team isn’t used to. It’s even more rare for junior pitcher Adrian Sampson, who boasted a 14-0 record since his freshman year. His flawless mark came crashing down Monday afternoon, however, when first-place Skyline was stunned 8-1 by league rival Newport.
“We got beat by a better team,” said a frustrated Skyline coach, Chris Tamminen, afterwards.
Newport didn’t waste any time jumping on the board.
The Knights pounced on the Spartans in the top of the first when No. 3 batter Colin Hering blistered an two-run double down the left field line. He drove in Trace Tam Sing, who reached on one of Skyline’s four errors, and Brad Binder, who singled.
“It looked like (Sampson) still had his good stuff, we just jumped on him early,” Newport head coach Brian Fischer said. “We’ve been struggling all year, but our guys seem to do better against everybody’s No. 1 guys for some reason.”
The Knights struck again in the top of the fourth when Victor King drilled an a two-run single down the right field line for a 4-0 lead. Newport continued to chip away, taking an 8-0 lead in the seventh. Three of the runs were unearned. The Spartans committed four errors, hit two batters, and had allowed a passed ball.
Offensively, Skyline couldn’t get anything going against Hering. The 6-foot-3 left-hander was making his first start of the year. He struck out five batters and didn’t allow an earned run in 6 and two-thirds innings of work. Fischer liked the matchup against the four left-handed hitters in the Skyline lineup.
“Any time you can match a left-hander pitcher against that many left-handed hitters you have to feel good about your chances,” he said.
Skyline was able to avoid their first shutout of the season when Ryan Somers singled in a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Jared Fisher.
The Spartans fell to 10-3 in league and 13-4 overall with the loss. Newport improved to 6-7 and 8-8, keeping itself alive for one of six KingCo post-season spots.
The Spartans take the field against rival Issaquah (7-6, 9-7) at 3:45 p.m., Wednesday and host league leader Redmond (11-2, 14-3) at 3:45 p.m., Friday, May 1. The Spartans close out the regular season at 3:45 p.m., Tuesday, May 5 against Garfield.
Eastside 10-runs Hale
Eastside Catholic defeated Nathan Hale 13-1 Monday afternoon on the road. The Crusaders were led at the plate by Mike Bush, who was 2-for-3, with two home runs and six RBI. Mike Englund was 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. Matt Boyd improved to 6-0 on the mound, striking out three batters and allowing zero runs over two innings of work. Eastside Catholic scored five runs in the second and five runs in the third inning. The Crusaders are now 9-2 in league and 11-3 overall. They are one game behind Blanchet for the top spot in the Metro Mountain Division with five regular-season games left to play.
Issaquah edges Eastlake
Spencer Rogers pitched five innings of no-hit baseball and drove in the game-winning run Monday afternoon, helping Skyline to a 4-3 win over Eastlake. Rogers ended up earning the win on the mound, allowing just two hits with six strikeouts. Marcus Gaan was 3-for-3 for the Eagles and scored a run. Nick Andrews led Eastlake with a two-run double.
