Sometimes losing is all the winning you need

For educators and coaches, life is full of teachable moments, and, not surprisingly, many of them spring from adversity.

That’s a subject that Lakeside High School baseball coach Matt Sullivan knows something about after his top-ranked Eagles bounced back from their first loss of the season in the district tournament to defeat Omak, then won twice in the regionals at Moses Lake last weekend to qualify for Saturday’s State 1A semifinals in Wenatchee.

Lakeside will play Naches Valley in one bracket while Nooksack Valley and Chimacum will face off in the other. The winners will play in the championship game at 4 p.m.

The Northeast A League champions had won 20 straight games before losing to Chewelah, 8-6, in eight innings. Their winning streak included three victories over the Cougars in which Lakeside had outscored Chewelah 21-2, with two shutouts. So the defeat was a stunner.

But it also was the inspiration for their two wins last weekend, said Anthony Froemke, one of two splendid seniors – along with Rylin Dukes – who have led the Eagles on and off the field this season.

“We fed off that Chewelah loss,” said Froemke, “and we’ve played better baseball since then because of it.

“Losing that game was a reminder that we’re not unbeatable, and so we can’t just go out acting like we are and not work hard. I honestly think that even after we tied that game in the bottom of the seventh, we weren’t really playing to win – we were playing not to lose,” Froemke said.

Lakeside faced a similar scenario in Saturday’s first regional contest, when the Eagles led 7-3 after a four-run seventh, only to see Kiona-Benton tie it in the bottom of the inning. Lakeside got three in the top of the eighth for a 10-7 victory, then defeated Chewelah, 5-2, to advance to this weekend’s final four.

“In some ways, we were kind of a deer in the headlights (in the loss to Chewelah),” said Sullivan. “We were ranked No. 1 and had a 20-0 record, but Chewelah hung around. And even when we came back to tie it, I felt the same as Anthony – at that point, we were playing not to lose.

“You never know how kids are going to respond after something like that,” the coach continued. “It came down to the Omak game – if we hadn’t won that one, we’d have had a 20-2 record and been done for the season.

“I really felt we were the best team in the district, but you have to prove it on the field. Whoever’s still standing at the end is the best team,” Sullivan said.

Froemke pitched a three-hit shutout in the 2-0 district win over Omak, sending the Eagles into the regionals, and after the extra-inning victory over Kiona-Benton, Dukes threw a four-hitter against Chewelah, Lakeside’s fourth victory over the Cougars in five games this season.

“Those two guys have been incredible,” said Sullivan. “Anthony’s batting .535 and has a 1.16 ERA, and Rylin’s hitting .444 in league and has all seven of our home runs. He moved here from Forks (Wash.) after his sophomore season, and Anthony’s only the third player I’ve had here in 15 years to play on the varsity as a freshman.

“The kind of confidence we showed this last weekend, the focus we had, comes from our seniors. Our kids were unafraid – every one of them wanted the ball, wanted to be the guy to get the big hit. That’s a refreshing feeling to see guys respond like that,” the coach said.

Dukes, who was a member of a 1-18 team at Forks two years ago, is looking forward to the state finals.

“It’s going to be a blast,” he said. “We’ll have a chance to compete against the best in the state.

“I tip my hat to Chewelah – they shocked us. The winning streak wasn’t a burden, but it was a big responsibility,” Dukes said.

And if the Eagles continue their success this weekend, they can thank the Cougars for teaching them an important lesson.