The parallel was obvious.
For the Newport Knights, Saturday’s 4-2 win over West Seattle wasn’t just about a mark in the win column. It was about the location: Safeco Field in Seattle, home of the Seattle Mariners. It was about having fun in the big league stadium as part of the High School Baseball Classic.
But the parallel was there all along. Safeco Field also plays host to the WIAA 4A State Championships, a fact that the Knights players all noted following the non-conference victory.
“It was a great experience, but we want to be back here later,” said senior outfielder Colin Hering after the game, the third of the day at Safeco.
With the road to the playoffs starting in the very same place it will end, Newport (7-8) got off to a great start against the Wildcats of the 3A Metro League. The Knights had seven different pitchers see action in the game, holding West Seattle to two runs on seven hits. Sophomore Cole Wiper struck out the final two batters of the game to get the save and put an exclamation point on the non-league win.
“When we first got out here and started stretching, I told the guys that if there was ever a day when we had to come out and bring the intensity, today was the day,” said senior pitcher Brandon Andreini, who started the game for Newport. “I was amped up for this game all day.”
Andreini, who improved to 4-2 on the year by picking up the win, struck out three Wildcats in his two innings of work.
“First pitch, I was just trying to gear it up to throw it as hard as I could,” Andreini said after the game. “That mound is just something else. It’s going to be tough to go back to the other fields. I was trying to get my money’s worth.”
Newport started off quickly offensively, as Hering picked up the first of his two RBIs by knocking in Trace Tam Sing with a double in the first inning. Hering went 2-for-2 in the game and Tam Sing doubled, tripled and scored three runs for Newport, which never trailed in the game.
Starting pitcher Brandon MacKinnon took the loss for West Seattle (7-5), allowing two two runs in three innings of work. The seven Newport pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.
“We ran out a couple of pitchers that hadn’t thrown yet this year and they all did well today,” said Newport coach Brian Fischer.
The win broke came off the heels of a 14-2 loss to Redmond two days prior. The team used the Friday day off to collect itself and play its second annual kickball game to lighten the mood.
“I think our guys realized that we’ve been lacking that team chemistry,” Fishcer said, noting that 24 different Knights saw game action Saturday. “I think this really helped tonight.”
But for the Knights players, it kept coming back to the full circle. Saturday’s game can’t be the last game at Safeco for Newport, players said.
“It is definitely going through all of our heads,” Andreini said. “We need to be back here for the last game of the year.”
Additional photos are available online.
