After sluggish start, Bonney Lake tore through 3A PCL, now fighting for 3A state tournament berth
What a difference a month can make.
On April 1, the Bonney Lake High School baseball team had a record of 6-3. Sure, they were tied with Silas in the standings. But they weren’t playing the way the Panthers knew that they were capable of. Something felt missing.
After their 6-5 loss to Central Kitsap, where the Panthers gave up a late lead, something happened that turned around the entire season. All of a sudden, everything snapped into place. The offense woke up, the rock-steady pitching only got better, and the defense stiffened.
The Panthers finished the regular season with a record of 17-3. They sit atop the 3A Pierce County League as co-champions with Silas. And the improvement has given them the distinction of being ranked fifth in the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Rating Percentage Index.
But more importantly, they are gearing up for their playoff push. Bonney Lake lost to Bainbridge in the opening round of the West Central III/Southwest bidistrict tournament on Saturday, but the Panthers are still in play to make a run to the state tournament, facing Prairie next on Tuesday.
“Our pitching has been really good and really consistent all year. On our team overall we’ve got 16 guys on our roster, and this is the deepest roster I’ve ever had,” said coach Mike Olson. “All of these guys are players who actually contribute. All of them could legitimately play on a lot of rosters in our league. But our pitching staff goes that same way. We have four guys who can start, go deep when they get the ball.”
The ace of the pitching staff is senior Nicholas Lewandowski. A four-year starter, Lewandowski is trusted by Olson and his teammates, almost counted as an automatic win for the Panthers when he toes the rubber.
He has been dominant for Bonney Lake. In the past two years, Lewandowski has not given up an earned run in league play. As a lefty, he has an arsenal of pitches at his disposal. He can blow past batters with his mid-80s fastball, or get whiffs from off-speed pitches.
“I just feel like my success comes from my mindset and my confidence. When I’m on the mound, I trust my boys behind me and I trust myself,” the southpaw said. “A lefty will usually have a different spin away from righties, so that helps me with my pitches already… When you see a guy at the plate ready to hit a fastball, I come at him with a curveball. He swings right over the top and it makes me look good.”
Prior to Bonney Lake’s district loss, Lewandowski made good on getting those strikeouts. Through 34 innings pitched, he has 58 strikeouts to just 23 walks. His earned run average was 0.41, and he was a perfect 4-0.
The Panthers obviously feel confident when Lewandowski is on the mound. But that feeling had to be built.
“We’re a very high energy team, we like getting down and dirty in the game of baseball,” senior shortstop Cameron Duggan said. “It’s just a lot of fun hanging around these guys, and I think that’s a big part of our success. We love hanging out with each other. At the beginning of the season, we set out to win league. ... After that, it’s all about playing our brand of baseball.”
Much like Lewandowski, Duggan has played on the varsity squad for his entire career at Bonney Lake. Whereas Lewandowski dominates on the mound, Duggan is arguably the Panthers’ most reliable hitter.
Despite his .448 batting average not being the highest for the Panthers, Duggan has had a big impact with his extra-base hits. So far this season, he has eight doubles and two home runs. Those contribute to his 24 runs batted in and 22 runs scored.
Duggan comes to the plate with a high level of consistency, and plays with a high level of energy. As the emotional center of the team, Duggan will be out on the field acknowledging the good things his teammates do on the field.
He will also be there for his teammates to help pick their heads up when things aren’t going well. It’s the mental part of baseball Duggan helps keep in check for his teammates. That was a huge boost for the team when things were feeling off at the beginning of the season.
“It felt great to get out of that early funk. It obviously feels good to win and to play your type of baseball, and for everything to start clicking,” said senior outfielder Brennan Carbonell. “At the start of the season, it felt like we were kind of missing something. It feels like we found that something partway through the season. Bats started hitting better, the defense started playing more complete, and everything clicked right then.”
If Duggan is the emotional center, it was Carbonell that got the Panthers to where they needed to go with his brand of energy.
As the leadoff batter, Carbonell created the spark for the rest of the Bonney Lake hitters. Even though he’s had a solid season thus far, Carbonell is continually improving his numbers and coming on at the right time for the Panthers.
He currently bats at a .349 clip, allowing him to reach where he’s most dangerous. Carbonell leads the team in stolen bases with 21. He eyes the opposing pitchers and watches for slight variation in their pitches. If he can take a bag, he will. And that has helped him reach his team-leading 28 runs scored.
Bonney Lake faces Prairie next in a loser-out district tournament game on Tuesday. The winner will face the winner of the Gig Harbor vs. Auburn Riverside game, with a trip to the state tournament regional round on the line.