A proficient first inning unveiled by the Redmond Mustangs was something the Issaquah Eagles never recovered from in a battle between Class 4A KingCo baseball teams.

Redmond scored six runs in the top of the first and never looked back en route to a 11-0 victory against Issaquah on March 27.

Redmond stalwart starting pitcher Brendan Ecklebarger, who is committed to the University of Washington collegiate baseball program, surrendered a mere four hits in a complete-game shutout against Issaquah. The left-hander was a dominant force on the hill.

“Brendan commands zone and has multiple pitches he can throw for strikes. He is good at keeping guys off balance. He was outstanding today,” Redmond head coach Dan Pudwill said.

Pudwill said seeing his team put up six runs in the top of the first was exactly what the doctor ordered after a sub-par showing in a 7-4 loss against the Inglemoor Vikings on March 25. Inglemoor scored six runs in the bottom of the third and Redmond never recovered.

“It’s always huge to start fast because in our previous game (Inglemoor) we had a team do that exact same thing to us early on,” he said.

The Eagles (1-2) are suffering some growing pains this spring. More than half of the varsity roster are underclassmen. Issaquah lost 10-0 to Newport on March 26 as well.

“The last few days have been tough. We lost 14 seniors from last year’s team. It’s a new squad,” Issaquah head coach Rob Reese said. “We didn’t compete as good as we should have but we’ve faced probably two of the best lefties (left-handed pitchers) in the league the last two days. You can’t hit pitchers like Redmond’s pitcher until you have seen him before. You don’t get to see those guys in C-team or jayvee. The season is young. We have a lot of good players, but its just a matter of adjusting.”

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com