BASEBALL: Kentwood eliminated by Redmond, 6-0

The Kentwood High baseball team didn’t have the offense Saturday to give it the defense it had been hoping for all season long.

Seeking to defend its state title from a year ago, the Conquerors were derailed by Redmond flamethrower Dylan Davis and the Mustangs 6-0 in a Class 4A state quarterfinal game at Heidelberg Park in Tacoma.

Davis, who was dialing up his fastball into the high 80s and low 90s all afternoon long, allowed just four hits and struck out seven in a complete-game effort. Davis, who will play at powerhouse Oregon State next year and was ranked by Baseball America among the top prep players in the nation, got stronger as the game progressed, too. Six of his seven strikeouts came in the final three innings.

“I’ve seen (Davis) throw before. That’s the best I’ve seen him,” said Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad. “He came out and commanded the zone, pounded it.”

Kentwood second baseman J.T. Evenson, who was unable to muster anything against Davis in three at-bats, agreed.

“He throws hard,” Evenson said. “We’ve got to tip our caps to him. We had the ability. We had the talent. We just didn’t get it done.”

The Conquerors (19-7) were making their seventh state appearance in the last eight years. Last year’s state championship was the Kentwood’s first since 2000. The Conks were hoping to defend their title, albeit with an almost entirely new roster. Evenson and No. 4 hitter Cash McGuire were the only two players on this year’s roster who saw significant time last season. In addition, ace Avery Kain, who also was the team’s top hitter during its title run a year ago, was lost early in the season due to a leg injury.

Despite overhauling the roster, Aarstad does not feel the Conquerors exceeded expectations this fall.

“Not too many teams lose their best pitcher and best hitter and win a district title,” Aarstad said. “Overachieving? No. I don’t think so. We expected to get back here.”

First baseman Zach Abbruzza gave Davis and the Mustangs all the runs they would need in the top of the first inning, launching a home run to left field that was high as it was far off of Kentwood starter Kyle Green, giving Redmond an immediate 1-0 lead.

The Mustangs (20-7) added single runs in the third and fourth innings before breaking the game open with a three-run sixth that was aided by three Kentwood errors.

The win gives Redmond a berth into next Friday’s semifinal round, where they will face top-ranked Jackson at 4 p.m. at Cheney Stadium.

Kentwood advanced to play Redmond in the Elite Eight thanks to a complete-game gem by ace lefthander Kyle Doyle in a 5-0 victory over Gig Harbor. Doyle allowed just three hits, walked five and struck out 11, one off of his season high.

“That was probably the best I’ve thrown all year,” said Doyle, who will play at Seattle University next year on scholarship. “I was going to my curveball a lot. Today, that was my go-to pitch.”

Kentwood sputtered offensively much of the time against Gig Harbor. Catcher Reese McGuire gave Doyle all the offense he would need in the third inning with a check-swing single to center field that scored Skyler Genger from third. Genger reached on an error. The Conquerors broke the game open with a 4-run sixth inning. Reese McGuire and older brother Cash both delivered hits in the rally. Taylor Jones added an RBI single as did Lucas Gately.

Offensively, however, the Conquerors were unable to muster much the entire day. Against Gig Harbor, Kentwood managed just six hits. In the two games combined, Gately went 4-for-6 with 1 RBI, 1 run scored and a stolen base. Reese McGuire, who was named the MVP of the South Puget Sound League North Division as a sophomore, added three hits in five at-bats, and was hit by a pitch.

Despite missing their ultimate goal, Aarstad remained pleased with how the Conquerors played throughout the season, particularly toward the end.

“After Avery went down, everybody stepped up,” he said.