Unprecedented heights for Falcons with No. 6 state baseball ranking<\/b><\/p>\n
Jason Evans felt an unfamiliar rumbling in his stomach last Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a feeling, quite frankly, the Kentlake baseball coach has not experienced in his previous two seasons with the team.<\/p>\n
And, no, it wasn\u2019t indigestion.<\/p>\n
Rather, the Falcons, who\u2019ve managed to do virtually everything right so far this season \u2013 from timely hitting to near flawless pitching and air-tight defense in between \u2013 were listed at No. 6 in the first Class 4A state poll, which came out on April 1.<\/p>\n
No fooling.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy stomach just dropped when I saw that,\u201d said Evans, whose team entered this week\u2019s games against Kentridge on Monday and Federal Way on Tuesday (both results unavailable) with a 4-0 South Puget Sound League North Division record and an 8-1 overall mark. \u201cIt was kind of like, \u2018Wow,\u2019 exciting and \u2018Oh no,\u2019 because now, we have a bull\u2019s eye on our back.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Evans might feel uneasy about the high ranking \u2013 the highest any Kentlake baseball team ever has been ranked \u2013 the Falcons themselves didn\u2019t show it that same night against Tahoma.<\/p>\n
Down 2-1 in the top half of the sixth inning, Kentlake put together a three-run rally that has become the team\u2019s signature this season.<\/p>\n
Marcus Evans tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single, driving home junior Bobby Tannehill. Moments later, junior third baseman Brandon Cinkovich connected for a two-run, opposite field home run to right-center field that ultimately sealed the Falcons\u2019 4-2 victory.<\/p>\n
It was Cinkovich\u2019s second home run of the season.<\/p>\n
And it couldn\u2019t have come at a more opportune moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unexplainable,\u201d admitted Cinkovich, the team\u2019s No. 7 hitter. \u201cI was just pumped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which, in a nutshell, sums up all of the Falcons these days.<\/p>\n
If it hasn\u2019t been clutch hitting, great defense has gotten it done.<\/p>\n
Then, of course, there\u2019s the pitching.<\/p>\n
Evans extolled the potential of sophomore hurlers Doug Christie and Zack Wright during the offseason, but quietly wondered how they\u2019d hold up to the pressure of playing in the SPSL North, widely regarded as one of the toughest leagues in the state.<\/p>\n
Christie and Wright have held their own. And then some.<\/p>\n
They limited Tahoma to just four hits last Tuesday as the Falcons won their fifth straight game. Meanwhile, Kentlake\u2019s 8-1 start is the best in school history. In the process, the Falcons have outscored its opponents, 64-21.<\/p>\n
More impressive, however, might be the fact that Kentlake pitchers have kept its opponents to two or fewer runs seven times.<\/p>\n
Young ones get it done<\/b><\/p>\n
And those sophomores?<\/p>\n
Wright and Christie have been solid if not spectacular, combining for six of those victories.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had high expectations for them,\u201d Evans admitted. \u201cWhat I was worried about most was their composure on the mound at this level. They\u2019ve both pitched at the upper levels the last three or four seasons and there are a number of good select teams out there. But this is a tough league we\u2019re in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve kept us in every game. I am very excited about the next couple years with these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, for the moment, all the Falcons are concerned about is the next game on the schedule and where they sit in the league standings.<\/p>\n
At 4-0, Kentlake already has a one-game cushion on second-place Jefferson (3-1), a team expected to be in the hunt this spring, and also is a game up on Tahoma (3-1). The Falcons are two games ahead of Kentridge (2-2), which was tabbed as the league favorite by coaches before the season began, and Federal Way (also 2-2).<\/p>\n
The top four teams advance to the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019d say it\u2019s a five-team race for the top four spots,\u201d Tahoma coach Russ Hayden said. \u201cThey\u2019re 4-0 in the SPSL North, and I think they\u2019re the team to beat. They play solid baseball. They\u2019ve clutched up this year and won all the close games.\u201d<\/p>\n
That being the case, Evans and his crew doesn\u2019t want to get carried away just yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was very sweet,\u201d Evans said of Cinkovich\u2019s game-winning home run. \u201cBut we\u2019re still walking really lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Tahoma (1-1, 4-3), the loss came just one day after an impressive 12-1 rout of Federal Way, a game in which Bryce Niemi went 3 for 3 with a home run and five RBIs.<\/p>\n
ALSO: Kentridge, which returned the league\u2019s best offense, struggled Tuesday in a 6-4 loss to Federal Way. It was the third straight game the Chargers were limited to four or fewer runs. Brady McGuire and Ben Mora each collected a pair of hits for Kentridge (2-2, 2-5). \u2026 Kentwood (1-3, 3-6) dropped its fifth straight game last Tuesday, falling to Decatur, 10-4. Joey Gillespie hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Conquerors. Kentwood bounced back the next day to rout Federal Way, 10-0, but then were on the other end as Tahoma rolled to a 14-4 win last Thursday. \u2026 Kent-Meridian (0-4, 1-6) fell to Jefferson Tuesday, 10-0, then fell 22-3 to Tahoma on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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