Play ball! West Seattle High School‘s varsity-baseball team will do just that at their home field today, hosting Ingraham HS at Hiawatha after a road win against them on Wednesday:

(Cameron Slader with a hit in Wednesday’s game; photo by Greg Slader)
The players won’t have to deal with one thing that beset Wednesday’s game – rain! Greg Slader reports that the game was tied 5-5 in the 4th when pitcher Alex Coats took over and held Ingraham scoreless the rest of the way. As for offense: “Cameron Slader‘s three hits got the offense going but none were more important than his walk in the seventh inning, as he scored when Alex Coats laid down a squeeze bunt for the go-ahead run. Three more outs and it was ‘game over’.” Go cheer on the Wildcats at Hiawatha this afternoon, 3:30 pm.

Also today: Chief Sealth International High School‘s varsity baseball team is on the road, playing Franklin HS at Rainier Playfield at 3:30 pm. … Seattle Lutheran High School‘s team is off until Monday night, when they’ll host Tacoma Baptist at Southwest Athletic Complex, 6:45 pm.

Great weather Monday afternoon for ballgames – and there were three locally, even though the schools are on spring break:

(Photo by Greg Slader: Spencer Elder, driving in WSHS’s only run)
West Seattle High School‘s baseball team played at Hiawatha, losing to Seattle Prep 4-1 (game stats here). From Greg Slader:

Kevin Cuddy pitched three good innings and held the Panther hitters in check, except one inning got away from the Wildcats as Seattle Prep scored three runs. Three double plays by the Panthers erased too many West Seattle base runners. Cameron & Spencer’s back-to-back hits scored West Seattle’s only run.

The Wildcats’ next home game is at 3:30 pm Friday vs. Ingraham.

Chief Sealth International High School‘s baseball team was home on Monday afternoon too, falling to O’Dea at Southwest Athletic Complex, 10-0.

(WSB photo: Evan Moe at bat)
Sealth’s varsity-softball team also played at SWAC on Monday:

(WSB photo: Sophia Bauer pitching for the Seahawks)
Sealth lost to Holy Names, 8-2 (game stats here);

Tonight (Tuesday), Seattle Lutheran High School plays at SWAC, 6:45 pm, vs. University Prep.

(Cameron & Morgan get the scoring started with back-to-back hits)
Thanks to Greg Slader for the photos and report on West Seattle High School‘s Wednesday afternoon 4-0 win:

(Graham French driving in a run, with a hit down the 3rd-base line)

West Seattle Baseball snaps their 3-year losing streak at Nathan Hale as the offense steps up and scores runs on clutch two-out hits. Ben Wexler threw a complete game on 73 pitches as the Defense made all the plays. Next game is Friday against Nathan Hale at Hiawatha, 3:30 pm.

A shutout in the rain for the West Seattle High School boys soccer team on Tuesday. Our team-supporter source shares the photo and news of the 1-0 Wildcats road win over Franklin, with the goal by Brian McMonigle, who also contributed defense along with Thomas Mensig and Connor Elder, plus, they report, goalie Akili Kasim with some great saves. You can go root for them at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point on Thursday at 3:30 pm, when they host Ingraham.

(Larry Jensen throws a strike; photo by Greg Slader)
In the first of two consecutive games vs. Rainier Beach, West Seattle High School came away with a shutout win on Wednesday, 19-0. Greg Slader shares a photo and the summary (thank you!):

Senior pitcher Larry Jensen got his first varsity start on the mound as he delivered four shutout innings and the win as West Seattle Wildcats climb to a 2-1 league record. His fastball mixed with a crazy knuckleball was enough to keep the Viking hitters off balance.

The game was at RB, which visits Hiawatha to face the Wildcats again on Friday, 3:30 pm.

West Seattle High School‘s soccer team is back on the field today, playing at Nathan Hale, after another win on Tuesday, 4-2 over visiting Cleveland HS. Our reader correspondent (who also shared the photo – thank you!) reports, “It started off rough with a downpour of rain for the first half. But after halftime, the Wildcats came back strong with the next two goals winning the game.” Here’s the scoring list. Today’s match is between early conference leaders – Hale and Westside both have two in-conference wins.

(Graham French‘s late-inning hit propelled WSHS to victory)
The first win of 2014 is in the books for the West Seattle High School Wildcats. The photos and summary are courtesy of Greg Slader (thank you!):

A wild “come from behind” game helps West Seattle get its first win of the season.

Lakeside ace pitcher and Stanford commit Andrew Summerville held the Wildcats to no hits thru Five innings as the Lions piled up four runs. But a sixth-inning walk and a failed pickle play got the Wildcats their first run. Things only got crazier from there as West Seattle scored two runs in the sixth inning and three runs in the bottom of the seventh for the improbable come-from-behind Victory.

(Kevin Cuddy held Lakeside to one run through three innings)
An excited assistant coach Brian Tupper had this to say: “Crazy game, but that’s the way baseball is. You know you just got to keep grinding. That’s why we play all seven innings; it’s never over till it’s over.”

West Seattle is on the road for the next three games; next home game is April 4th vs. Rainier Beach.

Come support the team @ our Spaghetti Dinner April 5th at West Side Presbyterian Church – meet the players – free autographs and more!

This afternoon at Hiawatha, the West Seattle High School Wildcats host Lakeside. On Saturday, they played at Safeco Field:

Greg Slader shares photos and this summary of West Seattle’s 2-1 loss to Issaquah HS:

The baseball team played another pre-season game at Safeco Field, continuing the tradition of the High School Baseball Classic. Defense and pitching are still improving … Jake Magera and Larry Jensen held the Issaquah Eagles to two runs over six innings. Defense stepped up their game with a fantastic play @ home.

(Jimmy Mai tags out the runner at home)
The offense is still missing the clutch hits and left many opportunities on base.

This afternoon’s game is at 3:30. The WSHS softball team is at home today too, 3:30 pm at Southwest Athletic Complex vs. Ballard.

Also on Saturday, a cross-town soccer match – Madison Middle School and Denny International Middle School boys’ teams facing off at Southwest Athletic Complex. Denny principal Jeff Clark shared the photo and reports, “The final outcome was 4 goals to 2, with Denny taking home the new trophy. Thank you to the West Seattle Soccer Club for your support! Congratulations to both teams on their effort and sportsmanship!” Clark says this, like the annual girls’ games between Madison and Denny (Madison won the last two years), was dubbed “Battle of West Seattle.” WSSC is involved with both – note the brightly striped WSSC scarf around the trophy.

Thanks to NP for the soccer report and photos: It was friendly-rivalry time at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point on Thursday as West Seattle High School defeated Chief Sealth International High School 2-1, “with freshman Akili Kasim in the goal box along with a young team on the field.” NP adds, “It was nice to see a [retired] Sealth teacher (Mrs. C) giving the West Seattle goalie a hug after a great win!”

Next up for WSHS, Franklin comes to play @ Southwest Athletic Complex at 4 pm Tuesday; next up for Sealth, it’s back to Walt Hundley for a 3:30 pm game against Cleveland that day.

(Cameron Slader making the play at third base)
Next up for West Seattle High School baseball – they’re playing at Safeco Field on Saturday! This follows a Thursday pre-season loss to Ballard, 3-1, with photos and summary courtesy of Greg Slader (thank you!):

Pitching and defense did their job Thursday, but the offense still lacks the clutch hits. Ben Wexler pitched three innings as he relied on his defense to hold Ballard to one run:

(Ben Wexler throwing a strike)
Offense struggled again to get going as the Only RBI hit was late in the Game. The Wildcats left plenty of base runners stranded and had plenty of opportunities late in the game.

Next game is Saturday 4 pm @ Safeco Field vs. Issaquah. Tickets are FREE, sit anywhere you want. Parking is ½ price. Come support the team!

(Bobby Swami singles to drive in a run)
The Garfield High School baseball team’s local tour moved on Tuesday to West Seattle High School, where the Bulldogs beat the Wildcats 6-4. Thanks to Greg Slader for the photos above and below and this summary:

Kevin Cuddy pitched three solid innings, holding Garfield to one un-earned run and a 1-1 tie through three. Unfortunately, a five-run fourth inning would prove too much for West Seattle as they suffered the loss 4-6. The team is still working on coming together, but with six seniors, a junior and two sophomores starting the game, positions seem to be set for defense.

(Spencer Elder making the play at second base)
As noted in our report on Garfield’s game against Chief Sealth a day earlier, the GHS roster includes West Seattleites who have been past West Seattle Little League (and other organizations) teammates of boys on the home teams, so there were people in the stands cheering for everybody.

(WSB photo)
West Seattleite Justin Arkills-McLain was the winning pitcher for GHS, as noted in their online wrapup.

(Garfield pitcher Owen Vickrey, WSLL alum)
The visiting team was almost a second home team when the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks opened its baseball season at Roxhill on Monday afternoon. Four of the visiting Garfield High School Bulldogs, as noted in this Garfield-penned online wrapup, are West Seattle Little League alums – winning pitcher Owen Vickrey, catcher Alex Chase, rightfielder Justin Arkills-McLain, and centerfielder Derek Billey. Derek’s father, Garfield assistant varsity coach Dan Billey, alerted us to the this, meaning much familiarity on the field not only during this game, but also when Garfield goes on to play West Seattle HS on Tuesday, since the two on-peninsula teams have former WSLL teammates too. But back to Monday’s game; final score was Garfield 11, Sealth 6.

(Sealth 3rd base, Merle Rowan-Kennedy, WSLL alum)
Chase led Garfield with 5 RBIs:

(Garfield catcher Alex Chase, WSLL alum)
Today’s WSHS-Garfield game is at 4 pm, and Coach Billey notes that too will feature former WSLL teammates turned friendly rivals. He coached many of them along the way starting when they were about 6 and moving on up through state Little League All-Star tournaments in their 9-10, 10-11, and 11-12 days. So head on over to Hiawatha for today’s 3:30 pm game and cheer for everybody.

P.S. Speaking of WSLL, its pre-season jamboree is this Saturday at Bar-S Fields on Alki Point.

Play ball! High-school sports’ spring season is starting. Thanks to Greg Slader for sharing photos as Coach Velko Vitalich‘s West Seattle High School baseball team takes the field for the year, after finishing 2013 as #2 statewide. Above, the official team photo; next, two of Greg’s images from the pre-season jamboree Saturday at Liberty High School. Here’s Kevin Cuddy throwing the first pitch:

And Jimmy Mai rounding third base on his way to scoring a run:

Greg reports:

WS tied Kentwood in three innings at 3-3 and jumped on Liberty for a 4-1 edge. Offense had plenty of big hits as the top of the order scored seven runs in six innings. Five pitchers have stepped up this season and seem ready for the challenge ahead. Defense was shaky but they should return to last year’s form as they work together more.

Up next for WSHS – two games at home (Hiawatha), Garfield on Tuesday and Ballard on Thursday, both at 3:30 pm.