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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wildcats win, then are KO’d by Mercer

Mt. Spokane posted one dramatic victory Saturday, but the Wildcats couldn’t string their hits together in the second game and fell 3-1 to Mercer Island in the State 3A baseball playoffs.

Mt. Spokane beat Columbia River 6-5 in the early game at Whitworth University’s Merkel Field. But the Islanders (19-7) did just enough to beat the Wildcats and advance to the state semifinals next week at the University of Washington.

The Wildcats (20-5) outhit the Islanders 8-3 in a game in which neither team committed an error.

“We played well enough to win, but we stranded a lot of guys,” Wildcats coach Alex Schuerman said. “We just could not put (hits) together.”

In the first game, the Wildcats blew a 1-1 contest open in the bottom of the fourth when Kyle Shuey got a bunt single and Billy Parada smacked a base hit to right field that was mishandled and allowed both runners to advance.

Michael Walker then pulled off a suicide squeeze that scored Shuey. Kyle Lease followed with a double that scored Parada to make it 3-1.

The Wildcats took a 5-1 lead into the seventh inning before the Chieftains’ Jack Skantel led off with a double that started a four-run inning to tie the game.

Mt. Spokane’s Tyler Bailey led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and Michael Walker later hit a bases-loaded fly ball to right field that scored Bailey for the walk-off 6-5 win.

The Wildcats came out flat in the second game against Mercer Island, which got a two-run double in the seventh inning by Michael Bantle to beat Southridge 3-1 in its early game.

The Islanders scored one run in the first inning. Mt. Spokane pitcher Stephen Streltzoff hit Mercer Island’s Noah Hsue with a pitch. Hsue advanced to second base on a ground out, and to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Michael Petrie’s sacrifice fly.

The Islanders picked up two more runs in the second inning off three singles and a balk by Streltzoff.

The Wildcats didn’t threaten again until the top of the sixth inning when Matthew Pulliam singled up the middle. Shuey then hit a double off the top of the center-field fence. Parada’s sacrifice fly scored Pulliam, but Shuey was caught trying to advance to third to end the inning.

Cooper Smith popped out in the seventh inning with two runners on base and the Wildcats’ season ended.

“It was rough,” said Pulliam, who is attending Whitworth with Bailey. “They were a good team. We couldn’t string our hits together. It’s always sad when it comes to an end.”

“They are a special group. They love to compete,” Schuerman said of his team.