Lake's Highly-Rated Baseball and Soccer Teams Face Season-Defining Contests Thursday
After losses to lower seeds last Saturday, the would-be title contenders play Thursday with a trip to State -- or the end of the season -- hanging in the balance
Lake Stevens’ highly-rated baseball and soccer teams both face do-or-die propositions Thursday with the fate of the season hanging on the result of Thursday’s upcoming playoff games. For both programs, promising seasons teeter on the brink as a result of losses last Saturday. On the plus side, both programs need only to win Thursday in order to reach the WIAA 4A State Tournament. Â
Baseball - Eastlake 4 Lake Stevens 1 – Final (Saturday)
After claiming a second-consecutive Wesco league title, Viking baseball was awarded a bye in the WesKing tournament and faced a lower-seeded Eastlake team that had to win an early-round game just to face the Viks.Â
Eastlake was by far the sharper team on Saturday in Edmonds, though, as Lake Stevens sputtered out of the gate, surrendering two first inning runs to Eastlake via three infield errors and a hit batsmen.Â
Starting pitcher Luke Morris continued his excellent season and kept Lake in the game as the offense managed just two hits. Ultimately Eastlake put another two runs across in the top of the seventh thanks to a walk and another error.Â
Lake Stevens managed just two hits and committed four errors.Â
Sophomore Blake Moser provided a bright spot for the Viks, smacking a towering home run high into the netting above the 20-foot wall at the 340 foot mark in leftfield. The homer was Moser’s first varsity blast. Moser is batting .375 on the season and his .507 on-base percentage ranks amongst the 4A state leaders.Â
Moser also pitched the seventh inning for the Viks, nailing down the final three outs – two by strikeout – and hitting 93.6 mph
on the radar gun, with his fastball working between 90 and 93.Â
On the season, Moser hasn’t allowed a run over five innings pitched, surrendering just one hit from the 20 batters he’s faced. Moser has 13 strikeouts and two saves on the season. Morris took the loss (5-2) despite surrendering just one earned run.
The righty’s season ERA moved to 1.52 and it’ll likely be either Morris or junior Charles Long-Scott starting the playoff matchup Thursday. Long-Scott is 2-0 and is yet to surrender a run over 11 innings pitched. Â
Lake Stevens faces Bothell Thursday at 4:00 pm at Bannerwood Park in Edmonds.
The Vikings beat Bothell 4-3 at Bothell in April. Second baseman Josh Bouley had three hits and a steal, centerfielder Julian Wilson doubled amidst two hits and drove in a key run. Blake Moser notched the save.Â
Richer's Two Homers Punch Lake Stevens Softball's Ticket to State Tourney
EVERETT — Senior WWU-commit McKenna Richer homered twice, doubled twice and drove in four runs over two games Monday as Lake Stevens softball punched a ticket to the WIAA 4A State Tournament with a pair of victories in the WesKing District Tournament at Phil Johnson Field in Everett.
Soccer: Hazen 2 Lake Stevens 1 – Final (2 OT)
After earning the second seed in the 12-team WesKing district tournament thanks to their regular season Wesco crown, Lake Stevens soccer would’ve been well within their rights to expect a manageable opponent in the 2 vs 10 matchup. And yet somehow the Viks were paired with undefeated Hazen (18-0-1), the number one ranked team in 3A (why Hazen is playing as the tenth seed in the 4A bidistrict tournament is not explained in district tournament handouts).Â
Despite the tough draw, and despite a late-season let off that saw the previously undefeated Viks lose three out of four games after clinching Wesco, Lake came out the gates strong and took a 1-0 lead through a George Meadows-Morrice headed goal. Hazen was awarded (and converted) a penalty kick late in the first half – one of many hotly contested refereeing decisions, many of which worked to the home team’s disadvantage.Â
The two sides battled to a stalemate through the end of regulation, leading to a potential two golden goal extra time five minute periods. The first team to score a goal during these periods would win the game. Should the teams continue to go goalless through the two five minute periods, the contest would’ve been decided by penalty kicks.Â
That wasn’t necessary, however, as Hazen shrugged aside two solid scoring chances from Lake early in the first extra period before ending the contest through Hazen’s star forward Vitaly Polyukh, who got on the end of a long cross and leveraged all of his 6’5 frame to beat the last line of the Viking defense and end the game, 2-1 in extra time.Â
Lake Stevens has one more chance to win and punch a ticket to state. The Vikings welcome reigning 4A state title holders Mount Si to Lake Stevens, kickoff at 7:00 pm.Â
Previously:
Baseball: Lake Stevens Shortstop Aspen Alexander Earning Player of the Year Consideration
LAKE STEVENS —Bat held upright in the left hand…forearm rippling….thousand yard stare framed by a mess of eye black… clean home whites and crisp purple pin stripes…. blonde curls piling out the back of the helmet.