PORT ORCHARD — Did he, or didn’t he?
Did North Kitsap leadoff hitter Patrick Gilbert stamp emphatically on home plate after hitting an apparent two-run home run against South Kitsap Wednesday, as Gilbert, his teammates and his coaches contend?
Or did he miss the plate, as the home-plate umpire ruled?
Gilbert’s shot in the fifth inning would have put North Kitsap up 8-7 in the fifth. But once his trip to home plate was discounted, the score was 7-7. And when SK’s Cody McCulley blasted a shot off the top of the fence a half-inning later, the Wolves took the lead, 8-7, and eventually won the game by that score.
“We got a lousy call at home plate,” North Kitsap Head Coach Steve Frease said.
“I saw him stomp on the plate,” said NK’s Peder Rauen, who was the Vikings’ starting pitcher against the Wolves. “It was a terrible call.”
The call further complicated a game which had already been battered by poor weather, including several innings of rain and a hailstorm that prompted players to crowd into their dugouts and fans to scurry for their cars.
Before the decisive fifth inning, NK had scored one run in the first, three in the second and one in the third.
Second baseman Dan Peck and shortstop Jared Prince each had two RBIs in the first three innings.
South Kitsap had scored one in the first, four in the second, and one in the third. The Wolves’ two runs in the first had both been scored on infield errors.
In the top of the fifth, with South Kitsap leading 7-6, Rauen hit a single to
score Marcus Curtis, who had singled.
Then it was Gilbert’s turn at the plate.
The Vikings leadoff hitter had hit a double in the second inning, and he made another strong swing in the fifth, cracking an Adam Siler pitch over the fence for an apparent home run to score two runs.
Gilbert was in the dugout, pulling off his batting gloves, when he learned the run had not counted.
Did he touch the plate?
“Definitely. Two feet.” Gilbert said after the game. “I remember distinctly.”
“They’re going to call foul play, but he clearly missed home plate,” said South Kitsap Head Coach Elton Goodwin.
Despite the controversial call, the Vikings players and coaches said they have themselves to blame for the loss.
A better all-around game — and fewer errors — may have been the difference between the win the Vikings wanted and the loss they suffered, they said.
“The call wouldn’t have mattered if we had played solid defense in the beginning of the game,” said Gilbert.
The Vikings (1-1 in league, 4-2 overall) will face the Wolves (2-0, 5-1) in North Kitsap at 3:45 p.m. April 21.
North Kitsap 7,
South Kitsap 8
North Kitsap 1 3 1 0 2 0 0 – 7
South Kitsap 2 4 1 0 1 0 X – 8
Peder Rauen, Dan Peck (4) and Marcus Curtis; Brian Cox, Adam Siler (4) and Josh Ness. WP – Siler. LP – Peck. Leading hitters, North Kitsap: Peck 2-4, 2 RBIs, Jared Prince 2-4, 2 RBIs. South Kitsap: Cody McCulley 2-2, HR, sac fly, 3 RBI.
