Skyline entered the KingCo 4A baseball tournament as just a blip on the radar.
As the fourth and final seed from the Crest Division, the Spartans were one of two teams in the league tournament with a losing record.
Skyline responded with a resounding ‘so what’ Saturday afternoon by beating Evergreen of Vancouver 8-0 in Woodinville for a berth to the 4A state tournament.
“No one expected us to make it,” senior Peyton Harrod said. “It shocked everyone, I think, but I knew that we knew we were going to make it.”
Harrod, who made just his third start of the season since returning from an injured ligament in his right elbow, led the charge on Saturday.
The senior held the Plainsmen to just three hits in the shutout.
“I hadn’t faced them, so first time through the order I just tried to figure them out,” Harrod said. “I just worked my fastball more this game because I didn’t feel like they could hit it very well. That was my approach.”
In three starts, Harrod has now allowed just eight total hits and two runs in 21 innings.
“He really is just surprising the heck out of me, not because he has the ability to do this, but because of how the year started,” said Skyline head coach Chris Tamminen, noting he wasn’t even sure Harrod would take the mound this season. “I never saw this coming.”
The Spartans’ offense, which has been fairly quiet this season, also came up huge Saturday.
Sophomore catcher Jim Sinatro helped break the contest open in the bottom of the fifth inning, ripping a two-run double to the left-centerfield gap. The shot came on the first pitch from left-handed Division I prospect, Tommy Thorpe, and gave Skyline a 4-0 lead.
“The first pitch, I was just going at it,” Sinatro said. “We practiced it all week, just getting after it.”
Harrod followed with an RBI single to left for a 5-0 lead. The single knocked Thorpe, who threw 106 pitches, from the game.
“We hit the ball against a great lefty, he’s a very good pitcher,” Tamminen said. “We had a very good approach at the plate.”
Skyline took its first lead in the bottom of the first when Sinatro, who was 2-for-3, drew a bases loaded walk for an RBI. Sean Penberthy added a two-out solo home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the third. The Spartans rounded their scoring off in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI triple from Anthony DeMatteo and a two-run home run from Nate Litka.
Skyline improved to 12-11 overall with the victory, earning the No. 3 seed from District 2/4. They will face the No. 3 seed from District 3, Kentwood (17-3), at 1 p.m., Saturday at Everett Stadium.
“It sure is a testament to the kids, the kids deserve all the credit,” Tamminen said. “The first year playing KingCo 4A baseball for all of them but one, and to get to state, shows a lot of character, perseverance and a lot of hard work.”
And, as far as being satisfied — well, that’s not the case, according to Harrod.
“We’ve got to take it all the way, four more games,” he said.
Eastside Catholic eliminated by O’Dea
Eastside Catholic’s season came to a difficult end Friday night as the Crusaders fell 16-2 to O’Dea in the Metro tournament.
The Irish scored eight runs in the top of the first inning and seven more in the fifth to make short work of Eastside Catholic.
Gabe Lee led O’Dea at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
The Crusaders ended their season with a 15-7 record.
