Olympia Stuns Kennedy Catholic Baseball in First Round of Districts

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May 8, 2024

Kennedy Catholic vs. Olympia: May 7 Game Recap

by Jake KnightBurien-News Sports Writer.In an uncharacteristic game for Kennedy Catholic, they fall at home 7-1 to Olympia and drop the first game of the District 3/4 4A Baseball Tournament.Kennedy Catholic came in as the two seed hosting Olympia as the seven seed in the tournament. The Lancers were the favorite in this game, sporting a 17-4 regular season record and ranked as the ninth-best team in the state of Washington, according to Max Preps.Both teams sent out their aces: Coleman Hollabaugh for Kennedy Catholic and Trace Pruitt for Olympia.Pruitt shined in his start and had his best stuff from the jump. His lively fastball popped the catcher’s mitt time and time again with a good enough off-speed arsenal to keep Kennedy Catholic hitters off balance.[caption id="attachment_17283" align="aligncenter" width="821"]

Olympia pitcher Trace Pruitt[/caption]Hollabaugh was not the dominant version of himself that he has shown over the course of the season, although his swing-and-miss stuff was still there, racking up nine strikeouts in his four-inning start.[caption id="attachment_17281" align="aligncenter" width="822"]

Kennedy pitcher Coleman Hollabaugh[/caption]However, Olympia hitters made Hollabaugh work in his outing. Olympia was extremely effective using small ball to their advantage once runners reached base and Kennedy Catholic had a tough time defending against it.It started in a 26-pitch first inning. A sacrifice bunt moved the leadoff walk to second which would eventually score on a two-out base hit. Things fell apart for the Lancers in the fourth.Hollabaugh cruised through the second and third innings, striking out the side in each. Jack Skelley led off the fourth with a ringing double to the left-center gap for Olympia. Will Bailey laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt down the third baseline. With second baseman Jaxon Fitzgerald covering first, Hollabaugh’s throw took Fitzgerald into the baseline, and a collision caused the ball to drop. Skelley would come around all the way from second to score.Later in the inning, with a couple runners on board, Scott Hermann dropped down a bunt towards first base. Luke Logan had trouble fielding the ball, tried to rush the throw and sailed it wide of Fitzgerald covering. Two more runs would score. The fourth and last run of the inning would score on a low throw in the dirt from shortstop Liam Rhoads that got by Logan, unable to pick it cleanly.Olympia leadoff hitter Lincoln Berg checked in with a two-run single to extend the lead to seven in the following inning off reliever Tahvo Latvala.Pruitt avoided trouble for much of his outing and Olympia let him trot back out to the mound in the seventh, but Kennedy Catholic would not allow Pruitt to complete the game. Liam Rhoads drove Harvey Lieberman in with a sacrifice fly for the first run off Pruitt and ended his day. Pruitt went six and a third, allowing a single run on four hits and three walks while striking nine batters out.Travis Kunkel came in relief and closed out the game without allowing another run. Olympia advances to the next round, winning 7-1.As for Kennedy Catholic, they will face Rogers High School, the 10 seed, after they beat the 15 seed Skyview High School yesterday. The Lancers’ second game of the tournament is today, Wednesday, May 8 at 3:45 pm back on their home field.A loss in this game would end the Lancers’ season, but a win would give them another shot at earning a spot in the state tournament.Losing to Olympia makes the road much more challenging to make it to state, but Kennedy Catholic has yet to lose back-to-back games this season.

Kennedy Catholic faces Rogers High School in their second game of the tournament:

Today, Wednesday, May 8 at 3:45 pm on their home field

In other Burien sports news...

Highline High School lost to Orting High School 9-5 in the District 2/3 2A Baseball Tournament, ending their season. Highline outhit Orting nine to seven, but was unable to overcome three errors in the loss.Trenton Savage finished the season with a 1.59 earned run average in 48.1 innings, and Hawke Hansen slashed .553/.689/1.000 for a 1.689 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) in his junior season.[caption id="attachment_17284" align="aligncenter" width="902"]