March 4, 2008

Purple Holds Off Late Rally for 11-9 Intrasquad Win

Box Score  |  Photos

 

In the 2008 version of the Kangs annual intrasquad game, the Purple team jumped out to an 11-1 lead and hung on for dear life in an 11-9 victory. Senior Joey Semler defused a late White rally, coming on with the tying run on first base and one out in the eighth inning (game was a nine inning game). After walking the first batter he faced, Semler struck out junior Christian Kaiser and enduced a 6-3 ground out off the bat of Alex Ross to preserve the lead. Semler then finished off the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two White hitters in the process.

 

The White team got on the board in the top of the first inning, with junior Blake Lively (2-2, two walks) scoring on a wild pitch. However, that was the only time the White team would enjoy the lead all day. Junior infielder Eric Folkers put the Purple team ahead to stay with a 3-run blast to center field in the bottom half of the first inning. Purple added two unearned runs in the second inning and busted the game open with a six-run fourth. The frame featured doubles by senior Sean Falco and sophomore John Shimabukuro as well as a two-run shot onto 85th Street by junior Connor Akiyama. Folkers finished the day 2-4 with a double, home run and 3 RBI, while senior Ryan Neumann chipped in with 2 hits and 2 runs batted in for the victorious Purple squad. 

 

The White team fought hard despite the early deficit, crawling their way back into the game with a run in the fifth on a Spencer Wozeniak (’09) RBI single and two in the seventh on an RBI single by junior Christian Kaiser and a run-scoring ground out by junior Alex Ross. White continued to make things interesting in the eighth with doubles by sophomores Colin Tremblay and Brian Sinclair sparking a five-run rally to close the gap to 11-9. However, Semler came in for Purple and shut the door on the White team’s comeback bid.

 

Senior Curtis Howell picked up the win (spring training rules), working two innings and allowing a run on a hit and two walks. Howell struck out 2 and threw 39 pitches in his short outing.  Semler picked up the save, working an inning and two thirds of scoreless relief, striking out three. Christian Kaiser was the losing pitcher, allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on just two hits in his two innings of work. 

 

The Kangs will now prepare for their jamborees, which take place this Saturday, March 8th.  The Varsity jamboree will take place at Archbishop Murphy HS at 10:00 am, while the JV’s host the jamboree against Mercer Island and Archbishop at Lee Johnson Field at 11:00 am.  The first KingCo contest is now just one week away, when Lake Washington plays host to Roosevelt at 6:00 pm at Lee Johnson.

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