TACOMA — South Kitsap’s baseball team broke out the bats March 29 for a hit parade, spraying the ball all over the yard in an 11-3 thumping of Bellarmine Prep.
The Wolves opened the second inning with four straight hits off starting pitcher David Richards before a fly ball by Alex Garcia was misplayed in left field, clearing the bases and capping a six-run inning. They tacked on two more in the third and fourth, nearly getting the win on the mercy rule in five innings.
“We did what we needed to do — we got the bats out, executed some bunts and hit and runs, put things together, which was nice,” head coach Marcus Logue said.
“They’re a good team, they pitch it well, they’ve been playing well. With our offense, we needed to capitalize and do the things we haven’t done since Graham-Kapowsin.”
Drew Worden led off that fateful second inning with a solid single, and P.J. Moritz, Nathaniel Beers and Nate Wotzka followed suit, the latter driving home the first run of the game. After Jason Sauer reached on a fielder’s choice, Aaron Corso drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in another run.
With the bases loaded, Garcia then sent a long, high fly ball into left, which ultimately ended up a few feet short of a grand slam. But the left fielder overran the ball and it landed in front of him. With two outs in the inning, Wotzka, Sauer and Corso were all running on contact and they came in to score. The next batter, Torre DiGiovanni, also reached on an error, allowing Garcia to come home.
Corso plated a pair of runs with a two-RBI single in the third, giving him three RBI overall on the day. Beers and Wotzka each brought home a runner in the fourth, giving the Wolves an 11-0 lead.
Beers threw five excellent innings on the mound for South Kitsap. Though he gave up eight hits, all of them were singles, which helped him limit the damage. He also went 3 for 4 at the plate, helping his own cause.
“He’s been crushing it at practice. He’s seeing the ball really well,” Logue said. “The front side is staying low, so mechanically he’s cleaned up a lot of things. We like the way he’s hitting right now.”
South Kitsap was one strike away from ending the game after five innings. Beers ran up a full count against Bellarmine Prep’s No. 2 hitter, Nolan Kohler. But Kohler ended up walking instead, a call with which Logue disagreed. The Lions eventually scored twice in the fifth and once more in the sixth.
Garrison Glisson pitched the final two innings, giving up just one run on three hits.
“The nice thing about it is Garrison got in there to get some experience,” Logue said.
“That first inning, he hadn’t thrown a lot, so he was a little nervous, but it was good for him to have that opportunity. We’re going to need him down the road.”
South Kitsap 11, Bellarmine Prep 3
SK 0 6 2 2 1 0 0 — 11 10 1
BP 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 — 3 11 4
WP: Beers LP: Richards
Pitching
South Kitsap — Beers 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Glisson 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 0 BB, K.
Bellarmine Prep — Richards 3 IP 7 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K; Shaffer 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K.
Hitting
South Kitsap — Beers 3-4, SB, RBI; Corso 1-3, BB, 3 RBI; Wotzka 1-2, BB, 2 RBI; Worden 2-3, 2B, BB, RBI; Moritz 2-3, SB.
Bellarmine Prep — Kohler 3-3, BB; Mills 1-4, RBI; Richards 1-4, RBI; Shaffer 2-2.
— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com.
