Enumclaw no-hits Kentlake: Cooper Markham strikes out 19

Kentlake knew after game one against Enumclaw that they would have their work cut out for them in game two.

Enumclaw sent out right-handed flamethrower Cooper Markham in game two against the Falcons. The Hornet senior starting pitcher is a University of Oregon commit touting a mid-90s fastball at his peak, but was sitting low-90s throughout the game.

On March 31, Enumclaw did just enough to scratch a run across in the seventh inning to beat Kentlake 1-0 behind a combined no-hitter behind Markham and Carter Grant.

The story of the night was Markham, who pitched 6.2 innings and didn’t allow a hit while striking out 19 Kentlake batters. It may have been 45 degrees outside (generous), but Markham was bringing the heat all game long.

“It was as expected. We knew it was going to be a tough day in the office. Getting guys on base was going to be paramount and it was just tough,” Kentlake skipper Mike Suguro said.

If not for a pitch count rule (105 max pitches), Markham would have gone the distance and probably would have struck out his 20th batter of the night. But instead, Markham had to turn it over to his bullpen after 111 pitches.

On the other side of the Oregon commit was Matthew Ledbetter for Kentlake. Ledbetter went pitch for pitch with Markham until he turned it over to Devin Tep for the seventh.

Ledbetter also had double digits, striking out 11 in six innings of work. He allowed five hits and stranded six runners on base with five in scoring position.

“I felt really good. It was really high stakes. I just tried to get my fastball down and dominate with that,” Ledbetter said. “If there are people on base, I don’t let that bother me. I just focus on the hitter.”

Kentlake needed a pitcher to match what was being done by Markham, and Ledbetter did just that. His focus was on attacking the Hornet lineup, top to bottom. Ledbetter faced 24 batters and threw a first pitch strike to 15 of them (62.5%).

“He was able to challenge guys and not pitch scared. He pitched aggressively and that’s what we like,” Suguro said on his starting pitcher.

Suguro liked what he saw from his junior starter, especially with his fastball.

“He’s got an explosive fastball. Might not be what Cooper has. He can spot it and it is really hard to hit a really well spotted up fastball. We are excited to see what he can bring because his fastball is lively,” Suguro said.

There isn’t much to be proud of when your lineup strikes out 19 times in a single game and loses 1-0. But Suguro was able to take away a couple of positive things, including freshman Noah Adams. In the bottom of the seventh with a run needed to tie, Adams drew a nine pitch walk and stole second base to get the tying run in scoring position.

“Adams is not a freshman. His approach, the way he carries himself is well beyond his years. He went up there with a plan of ambushing fastballs to make sure he didn’t get beat. He wore out some pitches, fouled off some tough ones and was able to get on base and steal a huge bag for us,” Suguro said.

The only other base runner in the entire game was Christopher Moore, who drew a walk in the fifth.

Tep took over for Ledbetter in the seventh trying to keep Enumclaw off the scoreboard, but a one out walk and stolen base later put the go-ahead run on second base. Cole Cheichi went to steal third and an errant throw from Aiden Kramlich rolled into left field, allowing Cheichi to waltz home.

Coming into the game, Kentlake seemed to turn its season around. After losing their first three games out of the gate, the Falcons went on to win three straight heading into this game against Enumclaw.

The turn came from putting more emphasis on situational hitting during practices all week — working on hitting with runners in scoring position and finding ways to drive in runs with one or two outs.

“Our Achilles heel was not scoring with runners in scoring position. We left way too many guys on base. Putting more emphasis on putting the ball in play and getting more confident in having some action,” Suguro said.

The Falcons are back in action against Tahoma on the road April 3, first pitch at 4 p.m.

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