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

State 1A baseball: Freeman jumps to early lead, tops Cedar Park Christian for spot in title game

By Michael Anderson For The Spokesman-Review

YAKIMA – Freeman’s Scotties got off the County Stadium schneid in a big way Friday, scoring five runs in the first three innings and toppling Cedar Park Christian 13-1 in six innings the State 1A baseball semifinals.

Freeman (23-3) will face King’s Way Christian for the title tonight at 7. Senior Michael Coumont is expected to pitch in his final game in a Scotties uniform. No matter the outcome, it will be the best finish in baseball for the school.

Freeman also won the state academic title for baseball this season, the third straight year the Scotties have captured that award.

After three straight semifinals losses in which it had scored two runs in 21 innings, Freeman made it clear right away that things were different in 2018.

Ryan Hayek lead the game off with a walk and eventually scored on a slow-rolling infield single by Jace Phelan. The Scotties left two men on in the inning, but the tone that coach Chad Ripke had been looking to set for four years had finally happened.

Perhaps more important, CPC starter Brandon McClean threw 26 of his allotted 105 pitches in the inning.

Garrett Barnes stepped up big for Freeman in the four-run third, slapping a two-out single that scored Caleb Watts and Coumont. That hit followed RBI hits by Coumont and Phelan.

Meanwhile, Freeman starting pitcher Desmond Parisotto faced the minimum number of batters through three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. With one out, Jensen Lavering got aboard on a swinging bunt and George Reidy walked. After McClean lined to third base for the first out, Cole Fazio looped a fly ball into short right field that Barnes couldn’t reach. Lavering scored and Reidy scampered to third base. But that was all the trouble the left-hander faced.

“All he gave up was a couple of cheap base hits,” Ripke said. “He controlled the game for us. He had nine (strikeouts) and just one walk.”

Phelan paced the Freeman offensive attack with four hits.