The outcome of a Class 3A Metro League matchup between the Eastside Catholic Crusaders and Roosevelt Roughriders baseball squads came down to the final at bat in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The game took place April 6 on Eastside Catholic’s diamond in Sammamish. With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Crusaders senior Kollin Malsam stepped into the batters box with the bases loaded. With two balls and two strikes Malsam was hit by Roosevelt pitcher Daniel Hunt’s fastball in the left arm which scored Jackson Brodman from third base. The run advanced the Crusaders to a 2-1 victory against the Roughriders.
Not too many games end on a hit by pitch but Crusaders’ head coach Kyle Larsen said the ending was fitting considering what had transpired earlier in the contest. Eastside Catholic took a 1-0 lead when Hunt tried to pick off Brodman at third base in the bottom of the fifth. Hunt’s errant throw was just out of reach of Roosevelt third baseman Sam Cantrell, allowing Brodman to score easily. Roosevelt tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch from Crusaders’ pitcher Billy Dimlow. Dimlow’s pitch sailed a foot over Eastside Catholic catcher Griffin Mueller’s head, allowing Roosevelt junior Jackson Simone to cross the plate from third base.
“It was a weird game,” Larsen said. “It wasn’t the prettiest but, like I told these guys, we’ll take the win and we are moving on.”
With the exception of the wild pitch in the top of the seventh, Dimlow turned in a workman-like performance. He allowed just three hits and struck out 13 Roosevelt batters in seven innings.
“Billy did an excellent job for us,” Larsen said. “He kept us in the game for sure today, Some days you just don’t have it at the plate and someone has got to pick you up and Billy picked us up big time today. Billy had a great game.”
Dimlow was relieved to see his team pick up the victory after his blunder in the top of the seventh.
“It’s so frustrating when you battle the whole game and you make one mistake like that,” Dimlow said. “It ruins everything but once your team comes out and picks you up like they did (scored game winning run in bottom of the seventh), there is not a better feeling. Nothing is better than that. Any win is a win and I’m happy with that.”
Eastside Catholic improved its overall record to 8-1 with the win.
“These guys believe in themselves and trust each other,” Larsen said. “We got a lot of senior leaders on this team. It wasn’t the prettiest game today and we found a way to win. That has been this team’s MO (mode of operation). They are challenging each other and are playing well together. It is fun to watch.”
Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@issaquahreporter.com
