After pulling out an ugly, error-filled game in the opening round of the district tournament, the Kentwood High baseball team came correct Saturday afternoon at Art Wright Field in Kent.
Behind another strong performance by ace lefthander Kyle Doyle and steady defensive play throughout, the Conquerors turned back South Kitsap 5-0 in a semifinal game of the West Central/Southwest 4A Bi-District tournament.
“We played a lot cleaner. It wasn’t such a messy game,” said Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad.
The Conquerors (17-6) were coming off a 15-7 throttling of Gig Harbor in the opening round of the tournament. Kentwood committed an uncharacteristic five errors in the win, though still clinched a state berth in the process.
Saturday’s victory over South Kitsap was another story.
Doyle, who has become Kentwood’s No. 1 pitcher after previous ace Avery Kain suffered a season-ending leg injury more than a month ago, was as strong as ever. Doyle worked five shutout innings, allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out six.
“He’s been our go-to guy since Avery went down,” Aarstad said. “He came up and got it done.”
As did the Kentwood bats.
Genger, who picked up the save with two solid innings of relief, gave Kentwood’s pitching staff all the offense it would need by driving home Taylor Jones with a single in the second inning.
Kentwood broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning. The Conquerors pushed their lead to 2-0 after a bases-loaded South Kitsap error, which set the table for Cash McGwire. McGwire didn’t disappoint, either, drilling a bases-clearing double into the left-center gap, giving Kentwood a 5-0 lead.
McGwire finished with two of Kentwood’s five hits, and three RBIs.
With the win, Kentwood advances to the championship round of the district tournament, where the Conquerors will meet up with Puyallup. The game was originally slated for 7 p.m. Saturday night, but was rained out. The game has now been re-scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday night (May 16) at Art Wright Field in Kent. With more rain in the forecast, the game could be moved to Tuesday in addition to being shifted to a turf field.
“At this point, I just want to get it in,” Aarstad said.
The state tournament begins Saturday at various locations.
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