Kennedy Catholic Baseball Defeats Mt. Rainier to Extend Win Streak

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April 24, 2024

April 22 Game Recap: Lancers vs. Rams.

by Jake Knight Burien-News Sports Reporter. Starting pitcher Harvey Lieberman went the distance, and the Kennedy Catholic offense provided just enough run support to narrowly beat Mt. Rainier 4-3, extending their win streak to seven games.Lieberman dazzled in his outing, going all seven innings, allowing three hits, three runs, and struck out nine while walking none. His line in the box score could have looked much cleaner, nearly perfect, if it weren’t for Mt. Rainier leadoff hitter Johnny Hall.Facing the 2-8 hitters in the Rams lineup, Lieberman allowed no hits, no walks, and one run on a hit by pitch that came around to score. Hall recorded all three hits for Mt. Rainier, including two home runs and a single in his last at-bat. The first home run came on the very first pitch of the game. It was an impressive performance from Hall, but Lieberman completely shut down his teammates.[caption id="attachment_16513" align="aligncenter" width="533"]

Lancer Harvey Lieberman - 4/22/24 Kennedy Catholic v. Mt. Rainier HS[/caption][caption id="attachment_16516" align="aligncenter" width="594"]

Lancer Harvey Lieberman - 4/22/24 Kennedy Catholic v. Mt. Rainier HS[/caption]The bottom of the order provided the thump for Kennedy Catholic. Three of their four runs scored came in the bottom of the second. Three doubles in the span of four batters from Cam Mattingly, Reece Holmes, and Luke Logan brought two runs across. This forced Mt. Rainier starting pitcher Kenneth Hall to pitch less aggressively, not wanting to leave any pitches over the heart of the plate. After loading the bases with a couple of walks, Kenneth Hall hit lefty Will Cahill with a literal back-foot slider with two strikes and two outs to bring in the Lancers’ third run of the game. Mt. Rainier scored their second run on Johnny Hall’s second home run in the third and their third run in the fourth to even the score at three. In the bottom of the fifth, Logan checked in with his second run-scoring double of the game, a bounding ball passed the third baseman down the left field line to score the go-ahead run from second base.[caption id="attachment_16514" align="aligncenter" width="629"]

Lancer Luke Logan - 4/22/24 Kennedy Catholic v. Mt. Rainier HS[/caption]In the following frame, Mt. Rainier threatened to respond and tie the game or take the lead. It started with Johnny Hall lining a single to center, disappointing for the center fielder compared to his first two at-bats, both of which ended in long balls. After a failed sacrifice bunt attempt, the next batter walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Lieberman induced a pop-out in front of the first base dugout from the next batter and blew an 0-2 fastball by Jack Fenton to shut down the Mt. Rainier attack and hold on to the lead.Pitching by Lieberman:[videopress wZ1dolmP]Kennedy Catholic let Lieberman finish what he started. He began the seventh inning with a flyout, followed by strikeouts number eight and nine to secure the complete game and a Kennedy Catholic win.The 3A/4A North Puget Sound standings are loaded at the top. Kentlake is leading the way with a 7-1 district record. Tahoma is at the two spot with a 7-2 district record, with Kennedy Catholic on their tail at 6-2 in district play. Although they sit in third place, Kennedy Catholic holds the best overall record in the district at 14-3. The Lancers look to keep the train rolling against Federal Way at home Thursday at 4 pm, their first of four important games left in the regular season as they fight for the top spot heading into the playoffs.