Who: Issaquah (12-8, 7-8)

How they got here: Fourth Place, Crown Division; The Eagles had a shot at the division title heading into the home stretch, but lost three of their final four games to end as the final seed.

Number crunch: 28 — Senior Ryan Peart has struck out 28 batters on the year, a team high, while allowing only seven extra base hits.

Player to watch: Mitchell Morimoto, SR. — The Eagles’ slugger had three base hits in his team’s last game, and has hit safely in three straight and five or his team’s last six games.

Eagles looking for consistency as tourney arrives

Issaquah may not be exactly where they wanted heading into Saturday’s 4A KingCo baseball tournament, but head coach Rob Reese knows things can shift rapidly with state tournament spots in an always-balanced league.

“We’ve been pretty inconsistent,” he said. “Anything can happen on any day, and it is probably one of the more balanced leagues I’ve seen.”

The Eagles enter their first round matchup against Crest champion Redmond having lost three of their last four games, including a 5-4 setback to Roosevelt that pushed them to the fourth seed.

Reese said the key offensively will be finding balance throughout a lineup that has relied heavily on slugging seniors Mitchell Morimoto and Derek Chapman.

“I want them to loosen up, and swing the bats like we’re capable,” Reese said. “It’s nice to get other guys to contribute, which we’ve done toward the end of the year.”

Fellow senior Ryan Peart has the second best batting average on the team at .346, but no player other than Morimoto (23) has more than nine runs batted in on the year.

The left-hander Peart has brought a confidence in his eight starts, posting a 2.43 ERA and a 4-0 record. His 28 strikeouts also lead the Eagles’ pitching staff.

But Reese knows his team is anything but the favorite to hoist the KingCo trophy, which may be to their benefit.

“Some years, the pressure is on you and some years it’s not,” he said. “We just have to relax and have some fun.”