Todd Beamer started league play a week later than the rest of the South Puget Sound League Northwest, but that did not stop them from taking the series over a tough Thomas Jefferson team with a 3-1 victory on Thursday.
After their win over Auburn, Beamer head coach Shane Elliott said he expected his team to take at least two of three games against the Raiders, an expectation they met.
“Anytime we win a series, we can’t be negative about that,” Elliott said. “Obviously three out of three is better, but if we keep winning each series from here on out in league play, we’re in the playoffs and that’s all that matters.”
After a couple of higher-scoring games were split between the teams, the series came down to a pitchers’ duel.
The Titans got on the board quickly in the first inning, scoring an unearned run to lead 1-0. They then retired the first three Jefferson batters in the bottom half of the first.
In the top of the second, the Titans added one more run on an Ethan Phelps double, which scored Jordan Taylor.
Jefferson pitcher Justin Maggerise was able to get out of danger by getting Jacob Barden to hit into an unconventional 5-3-4 double play, but Tommy Davis was able to cross the plate before the third out to give the Titans a 3-0 lead.
The Raiders had problems solving Titans pitcher Brycen Allen on the mound all day. They finally made a dent in the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth.
Darnel Calugay started the inning off with a long double that fell just short of the outfield wall. Mason Delacruz followed that up with a double of his own to score Calugay, cutting the Beamer lead to 3-1.
Allen recovered by striking out Tyson Sonnenfeld and getting Jacob Swanson and Blake Null to ground out.
He finished the day pitching a complete game, giving up four hits, one run, one walk and striking out six batters.
“Every time Brycen’s on the bump, we expect a quality start like that,” Elliot said. “After his pregame bullpen session, the catcher said he missed only one or two pitches. He was very efficient today. He didn’t give any free bases. He was able to throw three pitches for strikes today, and when you do that the other team is going to have a tough time creating offense.”
In the final three innings, Jefferson sent just 10 batters to the plate, one over the minimum.
“It was just one of those baseball games where someone was going to walk away unhappy and the other was going to walk away feeling good about themselves,” said Jefferson head coach Joseph Townsend. “Today we didn’t execute the finer things. We didn’t put the bunt down, we didn’t move guys over.
“For my young guys, I feel for them, but there’s nothing to be discouraged about. To be 4-2 going into the back half of league play, I’m comfortable with where we are. I’m happy for Beamer; they pitched phenomenally. It was a great baseball game.”
Maggerise pitched five innings for Jefferson, giving up five hits, two runs, two walks and striking out two batters. Derek Keyes took over in the sixth inning and gave up on one hit, one walk and struck out three batters.
JJ Asinas, Phelps and Barden had an RBI for Beamer.
The series win gives Beamer a leg up over Jefferson in the standings, but they still trailed Federal Way who was 3-0 in league play at that time.
“I’m expecting us to clean up some of the mental mistakes that we made in this series,” Elliott said. “I want three [against Decatur], but I’m pleased with two.”
Beamer (7-5, 3-1) is scheduled to face Decatur (4-8, 2-4) in a three-game series on Tuesday-Thursday. The first game scheduled on Tuesday was rained out and Beamer won Wednesday’s game 3-1. They are scheduled to play each other today at 4 p.m. at Todd Beamer High School.
Jefferson (6-7, 4-4) began a three-game series with league-leading Federal Way (9-2, 4-0) on Tuesday. They lost 7-0 after the game was called five innings in due to rain. Federal Way also took their second meeting on Wednesday 10-8 in nine innings. They are scheduled to meet again today at 4 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson High School.
