EVERETT — The Lake Stevens baseball team manufactured one run in the bottom of the first inning.
For the next four innings, it looked like that might be it as far as scoring in the Vikings’ 4A District 1 loser-out game against Monroe.
Lake Stevens pitcher Nick Hoskins and Monroe’s Alex Spahman battled the rest of the way, with Hoskins and the Vikings clinching a berth in next week’s regional with a 4-1 victory Saturday morning at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The Vikings’ starter allowed just one run, one hit and struck out 10 batters in a complete game for Lake Stevens.
“I know (Hoskins) wanted Thursday night’s game (against Snohomish) really, really bad,” said Lake Stevens coach Rodger Anderson. “But there was no way, with as much as he threw (in the Vikings’ district opener) against Jackson. We wanted to save him for today. And he was strong. I’m glad we did it.”
Hoskins didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning. The senior allowed just four baserunners the entire game, with two walks, one hit and one runner reaching on an error.
“Tip your cap to Hoskins. He was really good today,” said Monroe head coach Eric Chartrand. “He came out on a big stage and did a good job. Spahman kept us right in the ballgame. Both pitchers were really good.”
Spahman struck out nine in the contest and, apart from a wild pitch that scored a run in the first inning, cruised until the fifth. Another wild pitch allowed a second run to score and Lake Stevens added two more in the bottom of the sixth before senior Tyler Koontz came in to get the final out of the inning.
“Spahman came out and pitched a great game,” Anderson said. “He kept us off balance. We hit him pretty hard earlier in the season and he pitched his guts out. You’ve got to hand it to him. He’s got a big heart.”
The senior right-hander had a strong outing despite being injured in the first inning. Lake Stevens leadoff hitter Chase Ridder scored on a wild pitch as Spahman dove to make a tag at home. Spahman stood up with a cut on his hand but remained in the game.
“When he tried to make that dive to make the tag at home he scratched up his hand and it caused a pretty good-sized cut on his hand. But he still wanted it,” Chartrand said. “He’s done a good job for us all year and he had a good outing for us.”
Both offenses started the 10 a.m. game a bit stagnant. Lake Stevens (15-9 overall) scored its four runs on three hits and three Monroe errors. A sacrifice fly by Colton Richards was the only hit that drove in a run for the Vikings, who move on to face the District 3 No. 2 team in a regional game next Saturday at 10 a.m. at Art Wright Field in Kent.
The winner of that game plays the winner of another regional contest in a state quarterfinal matchup later Saturday afternoon.
“I was talking to the guys about it and they go, ‘It’s no different than in summer ball,’” Anderson said of the early start time. “They have to get up and go play in the morning in tournaments and stuff. We just took that approach. It’s just like a school day. Get up early and the same routine. Hopefully it continues next week.”
Monroe got its run on its lone hit of the game, a single up the middle by Andrew Chartrand in the top of the sixth inning.
“I think the boys were ready. We just didn’t execute today,” Chartrand said. “We can play better baseball. I don’t know if it was the stage or thinking about prom tonight, but whatever the case may be we just didn’t play our best baseball game today.”
The loss ended a Bearcats season that looked like it might be a struggle at the start. Monroe began the year with five consecutive losses but found its way in the season and a win in the Bearcats’ final game of the regular season clinched a district berth for Monroe.
At districts, the Bearcats defeated Cascade 4-2 in a nine-inning playoff opener, dropped a 2-1 semifinal game to eventual-district champion Snohomish and earned a 3-2 victory over Mount Vernon in a loser-out game on Thursday.
“It was a good year. It was a good experience for my boys,” Chartrand said. “At the start of the season we were 0-5 and it would have been easy for any team to collapse. But this team stuck together and made goals that were attainable. We did a good job.
“It’s about building a program. This is a step that we haven’t been in in a long time. We have 10 players on this roster that will be back next year ready to go.”
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Monroe0000010–113
Lake Stevens100012x–431
Alex Spahman, Tyler Koontz (6) and Eric Pino. Nick Hoskins and Andrew Bustard. WP–Hoskins. LP–Spahman. Records–Monroe 11-12 overall. Lake Stevens 15-9.
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