SNOQUALMIE – The Mount Si Wildcats baseball team opened the Kingco 3A season in style last Tuesday with a strong pitching performance by two Wildcats hurlers in a 2-0 win over Sammamish.
The game, the first of seven Mount Si “home” games being played on the opposing team’s field with the Wildcats as home team, attracted extra interest. In addition to all of the parents and students in attendance from both schools, a KING-TV news crew was at the game shooting film for a story, which had not aired as of last Friday. The TV folks picked a good game to come see, as it was the pitching of Mount Si seniors Adam Dentz and Chris Brown that was the story.
Dentz (five innings pitched, three hits, two walks, seven strikeouts) and Brown (two innings, two hits, no walks, one strikeout) dominated the Totem hitters on the mound. Their defensive efforts were quite important since the Wildcats left 11 men on base.
“[Assistant] Coach [Jeff] Sattler and I always believe that good pitching and good defense will win in this league and pitching and defense won this game today. It wasn’t our offense,” said Mount Si Head Coach Gary McGregor, as his team got off on the right foot.
The Wildcats broke through against Sammamish pitcher Mitch Mayers right away in the first inning. Tyler Starkel singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. He then scored on an error two hitters later. Mount Si scored again in the fourth. Remo Castagno singled off Mayers, then advanced to second on an another Wildcat single. Mayers then balked both runners ahead to second and third bases, respectively, and Ian Atkinson scored Castagno on a sacrifice fly.
Brown ran into trouble in relief in the seventh but a forceout at third on the Totems with two out ended affairs. Dentz was pleased with his victory.
“Well, I came out and did my best,” said Dentz.
Mount Si stays strong against Mercer Island
Mount Si’s scheduled game Thursday at Mercer Island was pushed back to Friday due to rain but that did not stop the Wildcats from posting another win, their second straight. Kenny Casem pitched very well for Mount Si, going six innings, giving up just four hits and one walk, while striking out seven Islanders in a 5-1 decision.
Mercer Island got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning on a single by Brian Kitamura that scored Mike Keller. The game remained 1-0 Islanders until the top of the seventh when the Mercer Island bullpen collapsed thanks to a strong effort by the Mount Si bats. With runners at second and third and one out after a sacrifice bunt, Erik Alexander singled in a run to tie the game. Then after Atkinson struck out for the second out, Starkel hit a two-run double that went all the way to the wall in left field to give the Wildcats the lead for the first time, 3-1. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, Dentz singled to score Starkel, and then, still with the bases loaded, Sales walked to drive in another run. Dentz closed out the game on the mound, striking out two Islanders.
Mount Si, now at 5-2 on the season and in 2-0 Kingco 3A, plays twice over spring break this week. Thursday is another of the “home” games being played at the opposing team’s site, this time Issaquah. First pitch against the Eagles is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Issaquah High School.
