PREP SPORTS WRAP UP: Federal Way baseball drops two in a row to Puyallup, Emerald Ridge

By Casey Olson • April 7, 2011 2:32 pm
Federal Way High School shortstop Nick Tanielu takes a throw at second base Wednesday during a 10-9 loss to Emerald Ridge. The game was played in rainy
Federal Way High School shortstop Nick Tanielu takes a throw at second base Wednesday during a 10-9 loss to Emerald Ridge. The game was played in rainy

When you conger up images of a game of baseball in your head, things like perfectly-mowed green grass situated underneath a sunny, blue sky come to mind.

That wasn’t the case earlier this week at Federal Way High School. The Eagle baseball team, which finished third at last year’s Class 4A State Tournament, dropped a pair of home games Tuesday and Wednesday in cold, rainy and blustery conditions.

The Puyallup Vikings handed Federal Way (4-2 SPSL South, 5-3 overall) their first loss of the South Puget Sound League South Division season Tuesday. The Vikings dominated the Eagles, 10-0, in a game stopped after the fifth inning because of the 10-run rule.

Federal Way lost its second game in a row Wednesday to Emerald Ridge, 10-9. The victory kept the Jaguars unbeaten in the SPSL South.

The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Emerald Ridge responded with three runs in the second and two more in the third to take a 5-2 lead. Federal Way added four runs in the third to take the lead back, 6-5. The Jaguars tallied two runs in the top of the fourth and never trailed again.

Washington State-bound shortstop Nick Tanielu finished 1 for 3 with a double and three RBIs for the Eagles.

Against Puyallup, the Vikings tallied one run in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth and four runs in the fifth. The Vikings (5-0 SPSL South, 7-1 overall) finished with nine hits, led by three hits each by Joey Crunkelton and Eric Kimmel. Both also finished with two RBIs.

Ryan Schmitten threw all five innings and allowed only two Federal Way hits while striking out five and walking nobody.

Austin Weber took the loss for the Eagles, throwing 4 1/3 innings and allowing six earned runs. He struck out three and walked three.

at Jefferson 7, Auburn 6

After falling behind 4-0 after the first inning Wednesday, the Raiders came all the way back to trip up the Trojans. Jefferson scored all seven of its runs in the final four innings, including a walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh to break a 6-6 tie. The Raiders finished with 10 hits and got home runs from Oakley Murphy and K.W. Williams.

Steven Sonnenfeld picked up the win on the mound and was also 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI at the plate. Murphy finished 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs and Williams was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs.

SOFTBALL

It took nine innings in rainy, windy and cold conditions Wednesday afternoon, but the Thomas Jefferson Raiders outlasted Auburn, 8-7.

The Raiders (3-1) tallied a single run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game to extra frames. After going scoreless in the eighth, Auburn scored a single run in the top of the ninth to take a 7-6 lead. But TJ responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to get the SPSL North win.

Sophomore Katie Jackson threw all nine innings for the Raiders, striking out an amazing 16 hitters. Jackson have up seven hits and just five of the Auburn runs were earned. She also walked nine hitters and the Jefferson defense committed six errors.

The TJ offense was led by Michaela Patton, who finished 3 for 5 with a solo home run. Alexandria Crowe finished 2 for 5 with two runs and Annalise Campbell was 1 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs.