For some trainers taking the winter off is routine. For some trainers racing thoroughbreds through all four seasons is customary practice. For the Jim Penney barn it has always been the latter.
However, this time was different. Trainer Jim Penney and assistant trainer Kay Cooper made a rare move and decided to pack up for the winter. In fact, it has been so long since the Penney barn took a winter off that Cooper couldn’t remember when it could have been.
She can slap the ball like Ichiro, but can leave the yard like Ken Griffey Jr., too.
But Kentlake outfielder Erin Crowley is hardly an offense-first player.
“I feel like defense is more important,” said the 18-year-old senior. “I have a team that can have a good offensive game if I am not hitting and we can still win.”
Of course, Crowley can do both. And do both well, with a bit of flair and like no other player in the South Puget Sound League North Division. A lanky lefthander, the Kentlake senior is as adept at dropping down a drag bunt for a single as she is at finding the gap for a double or triple.
Want power?
• FAVORITES: Tahoma, Kentlake.
• CONTENDERS: Kentwood, Auburn Riverside, Mount Rainier.
• SLEEPERS: Kentridge, Auburn.
Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Brenden Dillon has joined the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. Dillon was signed by the Dallas Stars, the parent club of the Texas Stars, to a three year entry-level contract March 1.
The Kentwood fast-pitch team played Bothell to a 1-1 tie Saturday at home.
Bothell went up 3-1 in the top of the seventh, but the Kentwood girls did not get an to swing the bat in the bottom of the seventh due to a time limit on the game.
There have been plenty of coaching openings for Quientin Poil to choose from over the years. A baseball junky who has both played and coached at the college level, none of the previous vacancies felt quite right.
Instead of giving the potential openings at least a tip of the cap, Poil let them pass by like a fading changeup out of the strike zone.
That is, of course, until early January, when Kentlake High’s Jason Evans officially announced his five-year run with the Falcons was over. Like a thigh-high fastball over the middle of the plate, this was an opportunity Poil couldn’t let slide by.
The Tri-City Americans defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-3 Sunday night at the ShoWare Center in the T-Birds season finale.The 2010-2011 Seattle Thunderbirds season awards were… Continue reading
Despite a late comeback attempt, the Seattle Thunderbirds fell to the Portland Winterhawks 5-4 on Saturday night at the ShoWare Center. With the loss, the Thunderbirds have been eliminated from the Western Conference playoff race
Kentlake kicked off the season with a non-league match up with Bothell on Saturday -- a game that was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was rained out -- at Kentwood High.
The Falcons put the Cougars away 6-1.
Center fielder Erin Crowley scored on a Jessie Richardson on a suicide squeeze in the first inning for Kentlake.
The Spokane Chiefs defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-0 Friday night, March 18, at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The T-Birds playoff hopes are still alive despite the… Continue reading
He didn’t wait long in making a name for himself, launching a home run in just his second varsity game.
Five games later, Kent-Meridian’s Kyle Engman continued the trend, going deep once again.
By season’s end last year, Engman had left the yard four times — three of which came in South Puget Sound League North Division play. In a league known for its power pitching, Engman’s accomplishment certainly was noteworthy, especially for a team that struggled to generate offense a year ago.
What may be even more noteworthy, however, is the fact that Engman did it as a 14-year-old freshman.
Seattle Thunderbirds Player of the Week Justin Hickman.
First came the weights.
Then came the power for Kentridge High shortstop Kyle Leady.
Leady, a senior, entered last season among the unknowns in the South Puget Sound League North Division. An infielder who bounced in and out of the starting lineup, between shortstop and third base and most often hitting toward the bottom of the order, big numbers weren’t quite expected. Yet, in a span of two weeks, Leady went from a blip on the SPSL North radar to one of the most feared hitters in the league.
The Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team kept its playoff hopes alive Wednesday night with a 5-0 victory over the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia.
The faces and names have changed this spring on the Kentwood High baseball diamond.
The optimism, well, that has remained largely the same.
Kentwood won its first Class 4A state title last season since 2000. And though the Conquerors graduated 11 seniors, including their top pitcher and South Puget Sound League North Division MVP Austin Voth and a slew of sluggers, they expect a repeat.
• FAVORITE: Kentwood.
• CONTENDERS: Tahoma, Kentlake, Mount Rainier.
• SLEEPER: Kentridge, Auburn Riverside.
The Prince George Cougars defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-1 March 12 at the ShoWare Center.
The T-Birds remain alive in a tight four-way playoff race with Kamloops, Everett and Prince George fighting for spots seven and eight in the Western Conference.
The Seattle Thunderbirds picked up a critical two points in the Western Conference playoff standings with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Chilliwack Bruins March 11.
Hometown:Coppell, TXBirthdate:1993-01-20Height6'2"Weight204Shoots/Catches:RightPosition:Centre2009-10: Colin played in all 72 Thunderbird games this season. He tallied 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points and had 119 penalty… Continue reading
The T-Birds have two big games this weekend as they push to make the WHL playoffs. They are chasing the Chilliwack Bruins who they play 7:30 p.m. Friday and the Prince George Cougars who they play 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
