BASEBALL DISTRICT SEMI-FINALS
Coach Hill reports:
MANSON 0
KITTITAS 3
SCORE BY INNINGS
MANSON 0,0,0,0,0,0,0
KITTITAS 0,0,2,1,0,0
ERRORS
MANSON 5
KITTITAS 1
HITS
MANSON 4
KITTITAS 3
This was a great game, but unfortunately we just never really got our bats going and Kittitas put the ball in play more forcing us to make plays. It was a battle of the arguably the two best pitchers in our league, Spencer Slyfield for Kittitas and Cole Matthiesen for Manson. Slyfield was very good today hitting his spots and keeping us off balance at the plate and ultimately striking out fourteen batters. Matthiesen had a good outing also, he struck out eleven of his own, the difference between the two pitchers was that Slyfield just didn’t make mistakes and really went after batters and when we did get runners on he didn’t worry about them. The first two and two thirds innings went really well for us, but we could tell that we were playing with fire as Kittitas kept getting runners on in each inning. Kittitas finally broke out with one out in the bottom of the third when they hit a ball back to the pitcher and an error was made; all of a sudden Kittitas had a first and third situation. Kittitas bunted back to Matthiesen who came home with it to get the out at the plate. The next batter ripped a shot to right to score two runs. In the bottom of the fourth inning Kittitas got their other run on a double, a wild pitch and a 6-3 ground out. That was all of the scoring for the day. We had numerous base-runners throughout the game, but we left them stranded too many times, eventually ending the game with seven total stranded runners. Kittitas ended up beating Soap Lake in the championship game.
Schuyler (SKYWALKER) Neff hit the ball hard three out of the four times he was up to bat, he had a great overall year as our team leader and our best defensive player. Schuyler also had a great offensive year and improved at the plate as much as anyone on the team because of his work ethic and his attitude. Schuyler is probably our team’s most important player, and that showed when we were missing him at Soap Lake because of appendicitis. It has truly been a pleasure to coach Schuyler the past three years. Schuyler has always been good for a laugh at practice even when he talks about his kindergarten bully.
Cameron Peters battled in his first at-bat to get a walk. Cameron is by far our most improved player this year. His improvement since the day he arrived from Mansfield is amazing. Once again his improvement is due to his hard work and attitude, and just like Schuyler his athleticism helps his improvement a lot. We hope to have Cameron back next year, he can be a very good baseball player if he decides to stick with it and continue next year in Manson or in Mansfield if they have a team.
Cole Matthiesen got a line-drive single in the fourth inning and pitched a great game. Cole had the best overall season for a Manson baseball player in the past three years. He is going to play baseball at Wenatchee Valley College next year.
Nathan (THE COG) Coggins had his best catching game of the year today, he also hit a ball hard to third in his second at-bat. All season long Nathan worked hard to get better and it showed behind the plate, but it really showed at the plate as he become one of our best hitters this season and was awarded the Seattle Times State Player of the Week back in April. Hopefully Nathan will have another great season next year and look to play some ball beyond high school.
Jordan Pittman ripped the ball hard to right center-field in the sixth inning, what a way end his season at the plate! That was the hardest hit ball of the day. Throughout this season Jordan has become a very good first-baseman, in the past his arm wasn’t very strong; but he has worked very hard on his mechanics and threw out a couple runners at third and home. Jordan also become a good hitter this year because he listened to the coaching staff and tried whatever we told him.
Curtis McLellen hit a ball hard to second base in his last at-bat of the season. Curtis is anther player that improved so much this season at both the plate and in the field. He might have even found his best position at second base at the end of the season. Curtis is another guy that struggled at the plate last year, but because of his desire to succeed he got SO much better as this season progressed. Curtis’s favorite words are “yes coach” and that is always great to have on a team.
Stellan Giffin bunted a ball to third and almost beat it out for a great hit and also dang near threw out a runner at first base from right field. Stellan will never be accused of not hustling, he always hustles and always finds a way to get his uniform dirty. The past two years Stellan struggled to put the ball in play, but not this year. Stellan did whatever we needed him to do this year including playing first base, left field, right field, center field and catcher. Stellan also started two three games on the mound for us.
Devon Griffith had a very well hit single to left center. If anyone on any team deserves to get a hit its definitely Devon. Devon always works so hard and does whatever he is asked to do and is always very respectful to everyone he is around. Last year Devon didn’t get a base hit, this year he had numerous hits and all of them were line-drives. The hardest part of getting the gear out is moving the pitching machine all the way to our field, Devon volunteered to do that EVERY day.
Kent Ustanik started the season as a player that had never played baseball before. He ended the season as our starting left fielder and someone that we could count on to catch the ball, run hits in the gaps or down the line and fire in throws from the outfield. Kent will be huge asset to the Manson baseball program in the future as continues to grow and understand the game better.
Willy (SPICOLI) Jones reached base two out of his three at-bats today, he got a walk in the third inning and hit a well placed single in the fifth inning. Willy has become a very versatile player for us. He played second and third throughout the season and will probably get some time at shortstop next year if he can stay healthy. Willy became a dependable hitter this year with many hits right down the right field line.
Johnny(THE DUKE) Jones is another player that has been in the system for three years now and has become a much better outfielder with many hours of work on his throwing and catching. Johnny also showed us at the end of this season that if we need him to he could be a good catcher when his arm gets a little stronger. Johnny also started hitting the ball a lot better towards the end of the season. Johnny helped us late in the season when things got boring with some entertainment as he played his trombone while the team marched the bases with him.
Ivan Cortez started the season late and this was his first time playing baseball. No one outworked Ivan when he was at practice. Every day we run laps and either Ivan or Cameron was the first one done almost every time. Ivan didn’t really understand the game in the beginning, but he wanted to learn the game and see what it was like to try something new.
Enrique Parra played baseball as a freshman for the first time this year. With his funny way of doing things he improved every day. He was fun to have at practice because no matter the situation he seemed have fun and be laughing. A bad day will never get Enrique down.
Travis (THE BIG STICK) Pittman shows up every day, works hard every day and does whatever he is told and never complains. In fact Travis very seldom says anything, but just seems to get the job done when he is asked to. He got a start as a DH against Chelan and put the ball in play every time and got base-hit in his last at-bat.
Billy Lindert got a really late start to the season, as he joined us after spring break. Billy worked hard every day having to watch many games before he was eligible and then when he became eligible he scored a run against Waterville with his lighting speed. Billy was fun to have around because he liked being with the team and wanted to get better.
Taylor (SID) Quigley only got to play in one game due to knee problems, but in that game he had two at-bats and reached base both times with a walk and he got hit by a pitch. After he got hurt he continued to show up to practice every day and help in any way possible. Hopefully next year he can stay healthy and help us in the outfield and on the mound as a southpaw.
Blake Callison started really hitting the ball hard and we thought we had found our designated-hitter and then by the end of that game he had broken his hand when he slipped on first base and put his hand out to break his fall. This really hurt the team because we were struggling at the plate and Blake was showing us that he could help the bottom of the line-up.
OFFENSIVE STATS
Schuyler neff: 1-4, k (DEFENSIVE GAME MVP)
Cameron peters: 0-2, bb, 2k
Cole matthiesen: 1-3, fc, sb
Nathan coggins: 0-3, 2k
Jordan pittman: 1-3, 2k
Curtis mclellen: 0-3, 2k
Stellan giffin: 0-3, 2k
Devon Griffith: 1-3, 2k
Willy jones: 1-2, bb, k, sb (OFFENSIVE GAME MVP)
Kittitas hits: brooks2, bilyen1
PITCHING STATS
Cole Matthiesen: 6inn, 11k’s, 3hits, 2bb’s, 1hbp, 3earned runs
5.15 Baseball:KITTITAS
