Thanks to Don Brubeck for sharing the photo: The Husky crew rowers may be based on the lake, but when it’s team-photo time, they’re here on the bay. Don happened onto tonight’s photo session at Seacrest for the University of Washington rowers, who swept the Windermere Cup on Saturday (congratulations!).

A Metro League baseball-playoffs extra-innings thriller has just ended at Steve Cox Memorial Field tonight, between cross-peninsula rivals Chief Sealth International High School and West Seattle High School.

Sealth had led the whole game until the 7th, starting with 3 runs in the 1st.

But WSHS tied it up in the bottom of the 7th, and one inning later, the game ended with the Wildcats loading the bases with no outs and having the winning run walked in. Final score, 8-7 WSHS; they advance in the tournament, playing Eastside Catholic at noon, also at Steve Cox, tomorrow.

More to come.

Soccer player(s) in the family? Two notes tonight – first, about an open training session tomorrow for one group of potential Premier players, and second, tryouts next week for two groups of potential Select players. First:

The Highline Soccer Association (HSA) currently represents more than 4,000 youth soccer players from the communities of Des Moines/Midway, Sea-Tac, West Highline, and West Seattle. The Association is made up of two Recreational Soccer Clubs (the West Seattle Soccer Club and the Highline Soccer Club), a Premier Soccer Club (the Highline Premier Football Club), and a Select Soccer Program (HSA Select).

Highline Premier FC, the highest level of training in the HSA, is hosting an open training session tomorrow, May 4, from 6-7:30 pm, at Walt Hundley Field in West Seattle, for boys born in 2007/08. Families with boys in this age group are encouraged to come out for a kick around, meet the coaches, ask the managers questions about the club, and let the boys have some fun and test their skills. For more information, contact Jessica Pierce at 206-200-8333.

Meantime, the HSA Select program continues its tryouts next week. On Monday (May 9th), girls born in 2004 try out 5-6:30 pm at Walt Hundley, where boys born in 2003 and 2004 try out 6:30-8 pm that same night. Full details on the tryouts can be found here, including how to register for tryouts.

Walt Hundley field is at 34th SW/SW Myrtle in High Point.

(WSB file photo of Coach Carr)

3:28 PM: Just announced by Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Ernest Policarpio:

Chief Sealth International High School welcomes Luther Carr III as the Seahawks’ newest head football coach.

Carr comes to Chief Sealth with over 21 years of coaching experience, 10 at the college Division 1 level. In 2012 to 2013, Coach Carr led the Seahawks to two playoff berths and two Huling Bowl victories.

The Chief Sealth community is excited to have Luther Carr back as a Seahawk.

Simon Iniguez coached the Sealth football team the past two seasons. (added) AD Policarpio confirms he left “in good standing.” We also confirmed with him that in a way, Coach Carr has never left – he’s continued on the teaching faculty at Denny International Middle School next door.

Exciting baseball game this afternoon as West Seattle High School hosted Chief Sealth International High School. Caryn Johnson, who’s been reporting on the Wildcats throughout the season, tells the story of their faceoff with the Seahawks:

A crosstown rivalry transpired this afternoon at Hiawatha Field between West Seattle and Sealth. Many West Seattleites came out on a sunny but chilly day to watch the “Battle in West Seattle.” It was a pitchers’ duel between Carson Wright for West Side and Nik Turcinec for Sealth.

The score remained very close through 5 innings with a score of 2-1, Sealth leading. Top of the 6th, Sealth would tack on two more insurance runs and West Seattle would answer with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Carson was able to complete the game, pitching through the 7th inning and not giving up any further scores.

Then it was a do or die for the Wildcats in the bottom of the 7th. Jack Page would start off with a single before a pitching change was made by Sealth. Senior Jamie Maples would come to the plate and hit a ground-rule double into center field. Senior Morgan McCullough would then be intentionally walked to load the bases.

Next batter to the plate would be sophomore Anthony Coats, who sent a deep sacrifice fly ball to center field to score Jack from third, and advance Jamie. Junior Andrew Burggraff would be next up to bat, during which the Sealth pitcher would be called on a balk to bring Jamie home and tie up the game. Burggraff would eventually draw a walk after a 9-pitch at bat to load the bases again. Then Senior Nathan Johnson [top photo] walked to the plate with one out. He would drop a slow roller by the pitcher that would allow Morgan to score the winning run from third. Nathan was immediately mobbed in the right field by his celebrating teammates.

In the end, West Seattle would come out on top, 5-4. Do we expect anything less from these two teams??? It was a great afternoon of baseball and to see so many come out and cheer on all of the locals was inspiring. This was the last home game for the West Seattle Seniors and they did not disappoint.

Final WSHS game of the regular season is on Wednesday against Seattle Prep at Steve Cox Field in White Center, at 3:30.

Wednesday is also when Sealth plays its last home game, 4 pm vs. Cleveland at Southwest Athletic Complex.

Thanks to Parris Sadow for the photo and report:

The Madison Middle School Ultimate Frisbee team took 3rd place in their division at the 2016 Spring Reign tournament this weekend in Burlington, WA. The team had a 3-0 record at the end of day one and entered day two in the winners bracket. They won their first game on day two, but came up just short of making it to the final in their 5th game. A decisive win in game six gave them 3rd place.

A great weekend overall in the rainy and wet conditions. Thanks to the coaches and parents and giant kudos to the players.

(WSB photo: WSHS #14, sophomore Anabelle Watt, on the mound)

Cross-peninsula rivals West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School met on the diamond Friday afternoon. Final score in the game at Southwest Athletic Complex: Wildcats 19, Seahawks 9.

What’s ahead: Both teams have games on Monday (April 25th), both 4 pm at SWAC, against different teams – Sealth plays Cleveland and WSHS plays Seattle Prep.

Also on Monday, there’s an all-you-can-eat benefit for the WSHS Booster Club to help the softball team, 5-9 pm at Pecado Bueno in The Junction (4523 California SW). $15 adults/$10 kids under 12 for the all-you-can-eat taco bar, all proceeds from which will go to the fundraiser.

The winning pitcher in Chief Sealth International High School‘s 8-5 victory over Bainbridge had a big day at the plate as well as on the mound. Thanks to head coach Ernest Policarpio for the box score: Isaac Hamilton was Monday’s winning pitcher with 5 runs over 6.1 innings and also went 4 for 4 with 2 RBI. Next up for the Seahawks – Seattle Prep visits them at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), 4 pm Wednesday.

Congratulations to the West Seattle High School track team for success at a big meet over the weekend. Here’s the report from WSHS track and field head coach Will Harrison:

The most prestigious high-school track meet in the state was held over the weekend, and West Seattle HS Track put their program on the map. The Pasco Invitational, hosted by Pasco High School on Saturday, April 16th, included 105 teams and over 1500 athletes. West Seattle had two individual winners at the event – Lani Taylor secured a victory in the 400m Dash in 56.11 seconds, and Chaaka Trahan won the Long Jump with a leap of 22 feet, 9.75 inches. Those marks put both athletes in the No. 1 spot in the current 3A state rankings. Taylor also placed 5th in the 200m Dash, and Trahan placed 6th in the 110m Hurdles and 9th in the 300m Hurdles. The Wildcats also had school record performances in the Boys’ High Jump (Nuradine Abdi at 6’2”) and Girls’ Triple Jump (Natalie Fuller, 35’9”). Other notable performances included Lexi Ioane taking 9th in the Shot Put and Cass Elliott placed 10th in the 300 Hurdles.

(See the full results here.) Your next chance to see the WSHS track-and-field athletes close to home is April 28th, at Southwest Athletic Complex, vs. Sealth and Lakeside.

4:25 PM: The biggest sports event in West Seattle today has another hour-plus to go (until 5:30ish) at Alki Beach, this year’s “home” for the University of Washington Huskies. They’re hosting Oregon, on 2 courts. No admission charge; good crowd. More photos, and scores, later.

8:46 PM: The Huskies tweeted that they took the match, 3-2. As promised, more photos:

Here’s the roster. Checking the schedule, this appears to have been the one and only “home” match for the Huskies this year, the third one for the beach-volleyball program at UW, so they’re not expected back at Alki this year. We’ll check to see about next year.

(WSB photo: WSHS pitcher Anthony Coats)

Go root for the West Seattle High School Wildcats at Safeco Field tomorrow! There, they will face Bremerton’s Olympic HS after a tough loss at home to Roosevelt HS this afternoon. Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the report and the next three photos:

Friday afternoon was a little chilly, but another nice afternoon for baseball. This game would see 24 hits between the two teams and 16 runs scored. Junior Ryan Kimsey started on the mound for West Seattle against senior Tomiz Medina for Roosevelt. The Rough Riders would score in the first three innings to take an early 5-2 lead and then tacked on another two in the top of the 5th. West Seattle would come alive in the bottom of the 6th inning, with three hits, two walks and 4 runs scored. By the end of the inning it was all tied up. Unfortunately, the Wildcats would fall short and ended up losing 7-9.

Jamie Maples (photo above) and Anthony Coats had three hits each to produce 5 RBI’s between the two of them.

Defensively, Nathan Johnson (photo above) made two great catches in center field to keep the game close.

Remember to come out to cheer on West Seattle at Safeco Field, Saturday at 12:30 pm, as they play in the High School Baseball Classic. Gates open at 11:30 and parking in the Safeco parking lot is only $5; admission to the game is free. Hope to see you all there.

Washington Huskies alum/fan? Oregon Ducks alum/fan? Get your beach chair(s) ready, because the regional rivalry hits the sand this Saturday on Alki Beach. One of our routine Google Alerts delivered news of the Huskies-Ducks beach-volleyball match at 2:30 pm Saturday. It’s the first-ever “home” match for Washington, which will consider Alki its “home” this year. Admission is free; this story from gohuskies.com explains who plays who when on which court.

Tonight’s West Seattle High School baseball recap is from Caryn Johnson, along with a big reminder about Saturday at The Safe:

This afternoon West Seattle lost a heartbreaker to Bishop Blanchet at Hiawatha. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, but just couldn’t hold on in the end, losing 3-6. Carson Wright pitched a great game for West Seattle and Daniel Lo came in to close out the 7th inning. But in the end, the bats of West Seattle just couldn’t produce enough runs to come out ahead.

Next game, Friday – West Seattle hosts Roosevelt at Hiawatha at 3:30PM

Remember that West Seattle will be playing Olympic HS (from Bremerton) on Saturday, April 16th at Safeco Field in the High School Baseball Classic at 12:30. Entry to the game is free and parking is $5 in the Safeco parking lot. Come out and cheer on the Wildcats!!

In a home game this afternoon, the Chief Sealth International High School baseball team beat Roosevelt, 5-4, and will play them again Friday. Thanks to head coach Ernest Policarpio for the box score – Evan Moe got the win for the Seahawks, with 7 innings and 6 strikeouts; standouts on offense included Kyle Flora going one for three with 3 RBI, and Miles Hoffman going two for three with an RBI. Sealth faces Roosevelt again at 3:30 pm Friday, this time at Lower Woodland. The Seahawks’ full season schedule and results so far can be seen here.

Baseball season around here, of course, means much more than the M’s – here’s another reason to cheer for your local youth leagues: Thanks to Coach Sean for sending the photo of the West Seattle Little League‘s first-ever all-girl coach-pitch team, the Rockford Peaches. (Named after a championship-winning all-woman pro-baseball team of the 1940s and 1950s.) He says they’re 6-8 years old, they play all-boy teams, and “are the talk of the town.” You’re invited to cheer them on, with upcoming games including:

Friday, April 8th, 5 pm, at Bar S (Alki Point) vs. the Thunderbirds
Saturday, May 14th, 5:30 pm, Alki Playfield, vs. the Evergreens
Saturday, May 21st, 6 pm, Alki Playfield, vs. the Grays

The full schedule is on the WSLL website; the coach recommends the Friday game because it’s “their only game at Bar-S and the weather is supposed to be awesome!”

West Seattle High School is back on the winning track after a Monday victory that followed a Friday loss. Thanks again to Caryn Johnson for the report and photo from todays game:

Monday afternoon, West Seattle hosted Franklin at Hiawatha. They bounced back nicely after their first defeat in the Metro League on Friday against Ballard.

Freshman #32 Reuben Gut started on the mound for the Wildcats. After shaking off some nerves and giving up a few hits and a run in the first inning, he settled down nicely to pitch the next four, allowing no more to score.

Jack Page went 4 for 4 with 3 singles and a triple, but it was the bat of Morgan McCullough that had the biggest boom. He hit his first home run of the season in the third inning out to right field to score two runs and take control of the game. Three others on the team would also have multi hits in the game. In the end, the Quakers just couldn’t keep up and fell to the Wildcats in 6 innings, 12-2.

Next game is Wednesday evening at 6:15, against Garfield, on their home field.

You can see the Wildcats’ full season record and schedule here.

West Seattle High School is at the top of the Metro League baseball standings. Thanks to Caryn Johnson for the report and photos from today’s victory:

The Wildcats traveled over the pond to take on the Crusaders of Eastside Catholic. Junior Ryan Kimsey [#15, above] started on the mound for Westside. He would go on to throw a complete game of shutout baseball, giving up only two hits and striking out three. Again West Seattle’s defense was strong behind their pitcher.

Juniors Jack Page and Nathan Johnson led the team with two hits each.

Andrew Burggraff [#39, above] had a double in the 4th inning to hit in an insurance run. In the end, behind the strong pitching of Kimsey and the great defense, West Seattle topped Eastside Catholic 3-0 and now sits atop the Metro League standings at 6-0 in league play.

Next game is 3:30 pm Friday against Ballard at Whitman Middle School.

See the full league standings on the left sidebar of this page.

Carson Wright

West Seattle High School‘s varsity baseball team is undefeated in league play, reports Caryn Johnson, after today’s 4-2 win over Nathan Hale HS:

It was a beautiful afternoon for baseball. The Wildcats hosted the Raiders of Nathan Hale at Hiawatha. Starting pitcher for West Seattle was junior #17, Carson Wright [photo above]. He pitched 5 strong innings and had a great defense backing him up all the way through the game. He got into a bind in the bottom of the 2nd inning, but the Wildcats turned a nice double play to end the inning, not allowing any runs to come across. Carson would go on to strike out 2 and only give up 2 runs. Sophomore Anthony Coats would come in to close the game and pitched two innings of shut-out baseball.

West Seattle didn’t have as many hits as Hale, but they all came at key moments. They played “small ball” to manufacture enough runs to top Hale. Anthony Coats led the team with two hits and two RBI’s. Nathan Villegas and Nathan Johnson also contributed to the score with one RBI each.

Also remember that the West Seattle High School baseball team is selling Mariners tickets as a fundraiser to the June 28th Mariners vs Pirates game. Email – wshsmarinerstickets@gmail.com to purchase and help support the team. Selling tickets also qualifies the team to continue participating in the High School Baseball Classic at Safeco Field. More details on this upcoming game to come.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats next play Eastside Catholic, at EC, 3:30 pm Wednesday.

Another youth-sports season is under way in our area – this time, Southwest Little League. The photos and report are from Erin Hauk:

The Southwest Little League kicked off the 2016 season on Saturday with the annual Jamboree at Mel Olsen Stadium in Steve Cox Memorial Park. SWLL President Terri Robison [above] welcomed families and introduced the teams while coaches and players paraded on to the infield for the national anthem.

SWLL serves West Seattle south of SW Juneau and east of 35th SW, through White Center and into North Burien (see the boundaries on this page).

Another victory for the West Seattle High School baseball team – thanks to Caryn Johnson for the report and photo:

West Seattle came away with another win this afternoon at Hiawatha, taking on Cleveland.

Anthony Coats #4 started on the mound and threw four solid innings, striking out seven and only giving up one run. Carson Wright #17 came in to close out the game. Jack Page, Anthony Coats and Ryan Kimsey led the team with two hits each.

In the end, Cleveland just couldn’t keep up with the bats and pitching of West Seattle, falling to the Wildcats 16-1. Next game is Friday at Southeast Athletic Complex (Rainier Beach High School) at 3:30.