The Mount Si Wildcats baseball team, fresh off their great run from last season, opened their 2006 season last Monday at home against Highline. However, the Wildcats ran into a tough pitcher from the Pirates and fell.
Ben Guidos, a senior lefthander who may be one of the top high school pitchers in the region, pitched five innings, only giving up one run on three hits, and struck out eight Mount Si hitters in a 3-1 decision. “We will not face a better pitcher all year than Guidos,” said Mount Si coach Gary McGregor. “He throws the ball probably 86-to-88 mph, left-handed, moves it around and he’s got a Dentz slider,” added McGregor, making a reference to former Wildcat star pitcher Adam Dentz, pitching this spring as a freshman at Washington State University. Guidos’ efforts are being watched closely by major league teams; according to McGregor, there were two major league scouts at the game watching the Highline pitcher.
The Pirates scored twice in the first then once more in the third. Mount Si’s run came in the bottom of the fifth off of Guidos. With senior Cory Lindberg on second, junior Ian Atkinson singled to score Lindberg.
Senior pitcher Chase Korsmo started the opener on the mound for the Wildcats. After christening the new field with a first-pitch strike to open the game, Korsmo took the loss, walking five Pirates in his two and two-thirds innings of work. Junior Keegan Riley relieved Korsmo in the third and kept the game close, striking out seven overall the rest of the way without giving up any more runs.
West Seattle doubles up
Mount Si
Last Thursday, the Wildcats hosted another group of ‘Cats, these from West Seattle, and it was the visitors who took home the victory.
West Seattle rolled out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth and scored a 6-3 win. Missed opportunities and poor Mount Si defense were the story. The ‘Cats left eight on base and committed five errors defensively. “We swung the bats well at times. What got us in a hole, and I think what got us down offensively and also carried over, we played bad defense,” said McGregor. Among the errors were a pickoff attempt that went awry early in the game, a blown double play which allowed West Seattle to score a run in the fifth. An error at shortstop on a routine grounder later in that same inning allowed another West Seattle run in.
Among the bright moments for Mount Si was a double to the wall by Thomas Taylor in the sixth that scored Erik Alexander. The junior was ready to strike for the Valley’s ‘Cats. “I had a full count and I was just kind of looking for something to hit,” said Taylor. “I figured he’d kind of try to come with a strike, so I was just waiting for the fastball, sat on it, and drove it to right field,” Taylor added.
A wild split
The Wildcats traveled over the mountains to Yakima last Saturday and played two wild games, one a win, the other a loss.
In the first game, Mount Si trailed 5-0 to host West Valley of Yakima before the Wildcats scored five times in the sixth to tie the game 5-5. In the bottom of the seventh the Rams, with two outs and a man on, hit a fly ball that was dropped by a Mount Si outfielder, scoring the base runner with the game winning run and West Valley won, 6-5. Kevin Allan and Kevin Walkenhauser each hit home runs for the Rams. Ian Atkinson went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBI’s to lead the Wildcats.
In game two, reports McGregor by e-mail to the Valley Record, strong winds made for a slugfest. A total of 27 runs, 23 hits and nine errors were picked up by both Mount Si and Bellingham combined in a 15-12 Wildcats victory. Mount Si scored their first win of the year after scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning. Among the many offensive contributions by Wildcats were those of Atkinson, who, like in game one, went 3-for-4 with three RBI’s, and Zach Solomon, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI’s.
The Wildcats return home next week when they host Sammamish in the Kingco 3A opener. Game time next Tuesday is 3:30 p.m.
