It was a tough start for the Mount Si boys’ baseball squad last week as they fell to Sammamish. Two big Totem innings made the difference to spoil a special day for one Wildcat hitter.

Kenny Bartz and Will Moore each hit solo home runs to pace Sammamish to an 8-2 blowout win. Starting pitcher Chase Korsmo struggled on the mound for Mount Si, giving up seven of the eight Sammamish runs on seven hits, while walking five.

The Wildcats struck first in the bottom of the second inning. On a 2-0 count, Ryan Utesch hit a home run to left center field, becoming the first Mount Si player to hit a home run on the new baseball field at Mount Si. “I was the lead-off hitter, so I was just trying to get on base so somebody else could drive me in and luckily, I got ahead in the count. It was 2-0 and I just put a pretty good swing on it, and it went out, I guess,” Utesch said.

The Totems quickly responded, bringing all nine hitters to the plate in the third, scoring four runs; then in the fourth, Sammamish brought seven more hitters up to bat and scored three more times. Among the runs in the fourth was Bartz’ blast, a lead-off shot to right field on a 3-1 count.

Mount Si scored once again in the fifth, but base-running blunders cost them at least two, maybe more, runs in that inning. Moore hit a home run to left in the top of the seventh off Wildcat reliever Beau Davis, and that closed out things for the Totems.

Mount Si came out and started fresh Thursday and posted a nice win. Everything was working in top form as the Wildcats shut out the Mercer Island Islanders 5-0.

“We came out a little more focused today as a team trying to hit the ball a little better. We definitely weren’t ready the first game, but today we knew what we had to do and we got it done, and that helped me out on the mound,” said pitcher Erik Alexander, who, after struggling in the first inning, pitched a gem, giving up a total of just four hits in a complete game effort. The senior struck out four hitters.

Mount Si’s bats got busy against Islanders’ starting pitcher Matt Rowe in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs. The key hit in the sequence was a double by Thomas Taylor. Taylor had three hits total on the day. Keegan Riley, Corey Lindberg and Blake Hepner each had an RBI in the frame.

The Wildcats scored twice more in the fifth. A Lindberg double started it off; he later scored on a sacrifice fly by Davis. Remo Castagno also scored a run in the inning.

Mount Si had a total of eight hits in the contest, but the defense was just as sharp as Davis, (playing second base in place of the injured Ian Atkinson, who was out with a back problem) and Castagno led a strong infield defensively, making great plays all game long.

The Wildcats continued their improved play last Saturday. Mount Si took a 7-3 lead in the third inning and never looked back en route to a 9-4 victory over Tumwater’s Black Hills Wolves, which put the Wildcats at 4-4 on the season.

Davis went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs; his first inning single keyed the early outburst by the Wildcat bats. Lindberg went 2-for-2.

Five different pitchers pitched for Mount Si, and Castagno was the beneficiary of a rare baseball feat: four strikeouts in one inning. The senior, who according to Wildcats coach Gary McGregor had not pitched since his freshman year, struck the first two Wolves out in the bottom of the sixth inning and then struck the next BH hitter out. However, catcher Blake Hepner misplayed the final strike, allowing that hitter to reach first. Not to worry, though, because Castagno came right back and struck the next Wolves hitter out for the fourth strikeout. “We might be using him to help close out games in the future,” said McGregor.

Mount Si is at Issaquah Thursday. First pitch starts at 4 p.m.