LaTrey Newsome is congratulated by team mates when he scored off of a wild pitch in the second inning. The Wildcats went on to win over the Seattle Prep Panthers 3-2.
West Seattle traveled to Mel Olsen Field to face the Seattle Prep Panthers on Monday. The Wildcats got on the board first when in the second inning led off hitter LaTrey Newsome laced a double off Prep starting pitcher Patrick Stanton.
Next batter, catcher Jimmy Mai then hit a solid single that allowed Newsome to advance to third. With runners on the corners Stanton’s next pitch went wild and got away from the Prep catcher.
That was all LaTrey Newsome needed, and the speedy left fielder came home for the Wildcats first run of the game.
The Wildcats struck again in the third. Pitcher Sam Hellinger showed patience at the plate, and with the count full watched a high and outside pitch send him to first base. Jimmy Mai continued his offensive presence at the plate by hitting a can-o-corn over the Prep first baseman and West Seattle had runners on first and second. Third batter up was DH Tim Adams who took a one-one pitch and blasted a shot into left center field for a two RBI triple sending home both Mai and Hellinger giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
Over the next two innings both teams struggled and would leave batters stranded with nothing to show for their efforts.
Seattle prep threatened in the sixth when they manufactured two runs. Panther leadoff hitter Alex Behrman hit a Texas leaguer over second baseman Spencer Elder for a single. The next Prep batter Will Hall doped a single into shallow left field. Hellinger, who had pitched a darn good game had a lapse of concentration and walked the next batter. Now Seattle Prep had the bases loaded with no outs but coach Vitalich stayed with his starter.
The next two Panther batters would make contact with the ball and be thrown out at first but would also allow two runs to score. Hellinger would get out of the inning but it looked like Seattle Prep was getting some momentum.
The Wildcats tried to get back their offense in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t pull the trigger and would strand two base runners. Vitalich continued to show confidence in Hellinger and left him on the mound. His confidence was rewarded as Hellinger dominated all three Prep batters and the Wildcats held off the Panthers to win 3-2.
The Wildcats will travel to Ingraham High School to play the Rams on Wednesday, Mar. 27.
