Week 7: Top high school baseball, softball performances in the South Sound
A look at the week’s top high school baseball and softball performances in the South Sound, including contests played between April 20-25.
MARVEL-OUS! FIFE JUNIOR TOSSES NO-NO
Alex Marvel was slated for just three innings of work in Wednesday’s rivalry with the Washington Patriots, but plans change when something special is brewing.
It was Marvel’s first start (second appearance) of the season, after all, but the junior right-hander quickly caught fire. When he retired Washington’s first nine batters in order, Fife Baseball’s coaching staff knew better than to pull perfection.
Trojans assistants turned to head coach Waylon Tulip: “Hey, we can’t take him out.”
“We realized at that moment that we had something cool going,” Tulip told The News Tribune on Thursday. “And luckily, he was just really efficient and able to push through to the last moment.”
Marvel’s bid for perfection fell one strike short when he plunked a Patriots batter with two outs in the fifth inning. How would he recover? By pouring three-straight strikes over the plate for an emphatic punchout, sealing a 17-0 win. It’s Marvel’s first no-hitter at the varsity level.
“Ultimately, whatever he was throwing was working for him,” Tulip said. “It didn’t matter if he was throwing his fastball or throwing his off-speed.”
Marvel is Fife’s everyday right fielder, reaching base in all four plate appearances Wednesday. He went 3-for-3 with a walk, three singles, and two RBI, helping spark Fife’s 11-run fourth inning with an RBI single to right field.
His final line on the mound: Five innings, no hits, no runs, no walks, nine strikeouts. Not bad for an outfielder, eh?
After an 0-2 start, the Trojans have rattled off 13 wins in a row. They’re undefeated in 2A SPSL play (10-0) and control their destiny for a league title in the coming weeks.
“We’re just a bunch of hard-working kids that buy into the philosophies of the program and are there (to) play for each other,” Tulip said. “It could be anybody’s day on any given day. We have had tons of kids step up.
“One day could be Dylan Hoots, and then the next day it’s Austin Zellmer, and the next day it’s Owen Yee that steps up for us. Ultimately, we’ve just really gelled as a team, and it’s all about playing for your brother.”
Marvel’s no-hitter was the last of seven thrown in the South Sound this week, including a six-inning perfect game by Kennedy Catholic’s Harvey Lieberman in a 10-0 win over Kentwood on Tuesday.
Rogers softball ace Sierra Murray, the reigning TNT All-Area Player of the Year, threw her first-career no-hitter with five stellar innings over Olympia on Tuesday afternoon. Here’s a complete list of the week’s gems:
April 20: Colman Balda, Steilacoom Baseball
5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K vs. Bethel (18-0 W)
April 20: Jaycee Kemp, Puyallup Softball
7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 14 K vs. Sumner (6-0 W)
April 21: Evan Barnes, Bethel Baseball
7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K vs. Spanaway Lake (9-0 W)
April 21: Maxwell Schweyen, Puyallup Baseball
5 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 11 K vs. Rogers (11-1 W)
April 21: Harvey Lieberman, Kennedy Catholic Baseball
6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K vs. Kentwood (10-0 W)
April 21: Sierra Murray, Rogers Softball
5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K vs. Olympia (12-0 W)
April 22: Alex Marvel, Fife Baseball
5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K vs. Washington (17-0 W)
KENTLAKE’S GOMES, LINNANE CRUSH NINE HOMERS
Hi’ilei Gomes and Riley Linnane turned three Kentlake Softball wins into a home run derby.
The Falcons sluggers combined for nine home runs in Tuesday’s win over Kent-Meridian and a two-game doubleheader sweep of Todd Beamer on Thursday. Kentlake exploded for 79 runs in that span; their standout duo drove in 35 of them.
In Thursday’s doubleheader with the Titans, Gomes and Linnane each belted three homers. The two-game totals are eye-popping:
Gomes (2 G): 6-for-7, 3 HR, 11 RBI
Linnane (2 G): 6-for-8, 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI
Gomes, a junior catcher, surged atop the South Sound’s leaderboard in batting average (.805) and home runs (12). She leads the state in RBI (53) and slugging percentage (1.902), reaching base at an .867 clip after homering in four straight games.
A-R’s POTTER DELIVERS ON SENIOR NIGHT
You only get one Senior Night, and Hannah Potter made the most of it.
The Auburn Riverside catcher homered twice and crushed a no-doubt grand slam to left center field in Tuesday’s 11-0 win over Stadium. The North Texas Softball commit led the South Sound with 14 homers last spring, now with five and counting as the postseason nears.
“Really working on my consistency,” Potter told The News Tribune last month. “I don’t think that’s a really big problem, but it’s really important to be consistent and keep it going.”
Several locals delivered multi-homer games in Week 7. Here’s a comprehensive list:
SOFTBALL
Willow Bonnici, Gig Harbor — 2 HR vs. Lincoln (April 22)
Paityn Calapp, Puyallup — 2 HR vs. South Kitsap (April 24)
Laken Elvig, White River — 2 HR vs. Thomas Jefferson (April 21)
Hi’ilei Gomes, Kentlake — 2 HR vs. Todd Beamer (April 23, G1)
Abby Hoyt, Peninsula — 2 HR vs. Capital (April 22)
Olivia Keehn, Central Kitsap — 2 HR vs. Mount Tahoma (April 22)
Riley Linnane, Kentlake — 2 HR vs. Todd Beamer (April 23, G2)
Hannah Potter, Auburn Riverside — 2 HR vs. Stadium (April 21)
Kiley Sledge, Franklin Pierce — 2 HR vs. Clover Park (April 23)
Tessa Trippy, Auburn Mountainview — 3 HR vs. Thomas Jefferson (April 23)
BASEBALL
Joaquin Jr. San Nicolas, Timberline — 2 HR vs. River Ridge (April 23)
Standout Sumner junior Wyatt Plyler added a cycle (single, double, triple, home run) in Friday’s 10-5 win over Bethel, going 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI.
