Matt Bower has been virtually unhittable all season long. But the Beamer senior was literally unhittable Friday afternoon during a 5-0 Titan win over the Curtis Vikings in South Puget Sound League South Division baseball action.
The 6-foot-5 University of Washington-bound left hander didn’t allow a hit during the win, while striking out 15 and walking only one. Beamer sits 7-6 in the SPSL South and 9-6 overall.
“He had a great game,” said head coach Jerry Peterson. “He has been lights out.”
Lights out to say the least. On the season, Bower has a minuscule 0.23 earned-run average and given up just one earned run in 30 1/3 innings. To further illustrate Bower’s dominance, all you have to do is look at his last two starts, both complete-game shutouts.
Along with the Curtis no-hitter, Bower also beat Graham-Kapowsin, 6-0, on April 12, giving up just four hits.
Despite the ultra-impressive stats, Bower is only 3-2 on the year. Bower lost to Curtis on March 30, 5-1, after giving up five unearned runs and Rogers shut out the Titans April 5. That is when Bower gave up his only earned run of the season.
Bower has already inked his national letter of intent to pitch next season at Washington and head coach Lindsey Meggs.
“Matt is a 6-foot-5, left-handed pitcher who has not yet even begun to develop,” said Meggs. “Matt is only going to get better and once he begins to add more size and strength to that 6-5 frame, well the sky is the limit. Matt’s best days are truly ahead of him and if all goes right, he could be a monster before it’s all over.”
The Titans’ offense was led Jarred Prather and Sam Kosbab against Curtis. Both finished 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs for Beamer. Richie Apigo also finished with a pair of hits and scored two runs. Drew Hoefel also tallied a pair of runs for the Titans.
Jefferson — The Raiders (5-8) lost a wild game Saturday to the top-ranked and unbeaten Kentwood Conquerors, 31-10, in five innings.
For comparison, TJ beat Kentwood for the first time in school history on the football field in the fall, 24-7.
Saturday, the Conks tallied 10 runs in the bottom of the third and 12 in the fourth. Reese McGuire finished with a cycle, going 4 for 4 with a single, double, triple, home run and seven RBIs. He also scored five runs for Kentwood.
Jefferson’s Steven Sonnenfeld led the Raider offense by going 4 for 4 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs. Nathan Baughman was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a pair of doubles.
SOFTBALL
Beamer — The Titans (8-4) blasted three home runs, including a pair by Halle Colson, during a 15-2 win over Curtis Friday afternoon in five innings. Colson finished 3 for 4 with six RBIs and two runs and Emma Blauser was 2 for 3 with a home run, a double, four RBIs and three runs.
Madison Rogers picked up the win for Beamer, allowing just two hits and striking out seven.
SOCCER
Federal Way — The Eagles (9-1-1) remained in second place in the SPSL South with a 5-1 win over Graham-Kapowsin Friday. Federal Way had five different players score goals during the win, including Sean Rigney, Ethan Tran, Fernando Sanchez, Javier Dieguez and Sean Tang.
Beamer — The Titans (4-6-2) were shut out by Emerald Ridge Friday, 1-0. The Jaguars lone goal came from Luke Munizza in the 72nd minute.
Jefferson — The Raiders (8-2-1) picked up a big 1-0 win over Mount Rainier Friday night at Federal Way Memorial Stadium to remain in a tie for second in the SPSL North.
The only goal of the match came in the 16th minute by Jacob Thoreson on a pass from Louis Alvaro Osornio. John David McCleary picked up the shutout in goal for the Raiders.
TENNIS
Jefferson — The Raiders (7-0) remained unbeaten in the SPSL Central with a 5-0 shutout of Curtis Friday.
Jefferson’s victories came from Cindy Park at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-1, Coco Hernandez-Tagoe at No. 2, 6-3, 6-3, Breanna Ziccarelli and Krista Nakamura at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, 6-1, Rileigh Qualls and Toni Mullen at No. 2, 6-1, 6-0 and Alice Kim and Gloria Oh at No. 3, 6-2, 6-2.
Decatur — The Gators got the best of Lakes Friday, 4-1. Decatur’s wins came from Alicia Hanson at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-1, Jessica Kim at No. 2, 6-0, 6-1, Ally Lewis and Taylor Meadows at No. 1 doubles, 6-0, 6-1, and Darian Kueter and Kayla Adrian at No. 3, 6-3, 7-6.
TRACK
Jefferson — The Raiders competed at the prestigious Oregon Relays last weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene against some of the best track and field programs from Oregon, Washington, Alaska, California, Idaho, North Carolina and British Columbia.
Jefferson’s best finish came from Cheryl Hong in the girls 400 meters. Hong finished third in 59.82. Kaya Warrior ended up sixth in the shot put (11.35 meters) and Montana Pellegrini in the pole vault (3.20 meters).
On the boys’ side, Jefferson’s best finishes came from Kendall Green. The senior finished eight in the 200 (23.13) and 400 (51.46).
Beamer — The Titans had a strong showing at the Bellevue Invitational Saturday at Bellevue High School. The Beamer girls finished second to Jackson in the 29-team invite and the Titan boys were fifth overall. Bellevue won the boys’ title.
Beamer sophomore Alanna Vann swept the 100- and 200-meter races in impressive fashion. Vann ran a 12.38 in the 100 and a 25.6 in the 200.
Other strong performances in Bellevue came from freshman Chante Sposter, who finished third in the 400 (59.87) and Asia Rogers was fourth in the discus (91-9).
The Beamer 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams finished second in both races.
On the boys’ side, Willie Roach finished second in the high jump (6-4) and was third in the 200 (22.92). Austin Hitchcock was second in the 300 hurdles (39.81) and Adrian Shocks was third in the triple jump (41-9).
