It was Senior Day for Chief Sealth’s seniors on May 2, and they pulled of a win in dramatic fashion to honor those heading off into a post-high-school world in a few months.

The final tally was 7-6 with Sealth pulling out of a three run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning and ending it all with a walk off home run.

The teams were all square at two runs a piece after two innings. West Seattle started working on their lead, getting one run in the third and going up 3-2.

In the fifth inning Sealth pitcher #14 AJ Rose let in two more runs off hits from West Seattle’s #20 Sam Hellinger and #9 Mike Wickham, leading to a pitcher change for the Seahawks.

Edit: Corrected the pitcher change to Keone Kela instead of Eric Swenson.

Keone Kela came to the mound for Sealth from the outfield. Kela caught a ball at the fence earlier in the game and, although he made the play, came out with a serious cut to his upper lip that required four stitches after the game. He started throwing with serious pace, although one wild pitch went to dirt allowing WS’s Hellinger to get another on the board running in from third base. West Seattle ended the inning with a comfortable 6-2 lead.

In the sixth inning Kela got his fastball under control (there were rumors about that he was throwing in the mid-90s) and took quick care of WS’s bats. He made it happen on offense as well, hitting a triple to center and getting one back for the Seahawks, scoring of a sacrifice fly from #16 Nic Layton.

Going into the seventh and final inning the Seahawks were down 6-3 and WS’s #23 Devin Smith was on the mound to close things out. Smith let two Seahawks on base and the Wildcats made a pitching change, bringing in #20 Hellinger as the closer.

The Sealth bats warmed up with critical timing, driving in the two base runners and tying the game up with a roper down the left line from #16 Layton, giving him a double and driving in the tying run.

#18 Kanan Hart for the Seahawks was up to bat with two outs and the winning run on second base. He took a solid swing at Hellinger’s pitch, crushing the ball deep to center with enough oomph to clear the fence. Chief Sealth took the win, 7-6.

After a jubilant celebration, Chief Sealth’s seniors were honored one-by-one with embraces from their teammates, coaches and family and each were given a rose for their years of hard work.

According to www.maxpreps.com, West Seattle’s league record stands at 9-6 (wins to losses) and Chief Sealth sits at 9-7.