Tahoma Tops Kennedy Catholic 3-1 in Top-Ranked Contest

Lancers and the Bears: Round Two taking place at Faccone Field in Burien tonight at 4 pm.

by Jake Knight Burien-News Sports Reporter. 4/2/24 Game Recap.The Kennedy Catholic Lancers traveled to Tahoma to face the Bears in a premier high school baseball matchup Tuesday night. According to Prep Baseball Report, Tahoma came into the game as the 17th-ranked baseball team in the state of Washington, with Kennedy Catholic right on their tail, ranked 18th in the state.The Lancers handed the rock to Coleman Hollabaugh, fresh off a 10-strikeout complete game shutout in his last appearance. On the other side, left-hander Adam Jay toed the rubber for the Bears. On a cold spring night with a 7 pm start time, the pitchers shined under the lights.Although both impressed, Jay got the better of Hollabaugh and the Lancers, tossing 5.2 shutout innings, and the Bears won the game by a score of 3-1.[caption id="attachment_15756" align="aligncenter" width="791"]

Adam Jay - Lancers vs Bears 4/2/24[/caption]Jay pounded the strike zone all night, striking out six batters and walking none. Kennedy Catholic batters had to be ready to hit, and they were early. The Lancers’ best threat against Jay came in the first inning when Kaipo Matsushima and Hollabaugh checked in with back-to-back singles with one out. Hollabaugh came up just short a two-run round tripper, but his laser off the right field fence resulted in a single as Matsushima had to make sure the ball cleared the right fielder before heading to second base.Coleman Hollabaugh single:[videopress X38Rpp7U]But Jay stifled the threat, inducing a flyout and an infield pop out. The Lancers scattered three hits over Jay’s next four innings and change, but could not string anything together to break through on the scoreboard.Hollabaugh matched his last outing in strikeouts on the mound, racking up another 10 in 5.2 innings. Although the swing and miss was still there, the quality of contact mixed with occasional inaccuracy showed up as blemishes in the box score.Hollabaugh was unable to work around a walk and a hit batter to start the game, giving up an RBI-single to Jackson Walker. To leadoff the fifth inning, Kobe Frazier saw seven pitches in his at-bat before reaching on an infield single on the eighth pitch. Pinch-runner Jacob Nold proceeded to steal second and third, setting the stage for Jay to help his own cause with a run-scoring double down the left-field line. Hollabaugh recorded the first two outs in the sixth but was pulled after allowing a bunt single which would come around to score before reliever Tahvo Latvala was able to limit the damage.[caption id="attachment_15758" align="aligncenter" width="533"]

Coleman Hollabaugh - Lancers vs Bears 4/2/24[/caption]Trailing by three in the seventh, Kennedy Catholic rallied back, facing Bears reliever Bryson Leach. Jesse LaBella led off with a walk followed by a pair of singles from Jaxon Fitzgerald and Harvey Lieberman, LaBella scoring on the latter. Leach would strike out the next two batters, but the second of which came with runners on second and third. The nasty breaking ball that induced a swinging strike three from Liam Rhoads skipped away from the catcher, and Rhoads would reach on the dropped third strike, loading the bases with one out and bringing the top of the order to the plate.[caption id="attachment_15757" align="aligncenter" width="519"]

Lancers vs Bears 4/2/24[/caption]Kennedy Catholic could not complete the comeback. A strikeout and a flyout to center would end the game, leaving the tying run on second base. The loss brings the Lancers’ record to 7-3 overall and 1-2 in district play after splitting their two-game series against Decatur last week. Meanwhile, Tahoma sits at 6-2 with an undefeated 2-0 district record.This game represents game one of a two-game series between the Lancers and the Bears, round two taking place at Faccone Field in Burien tonight at 4 pm. Although it is early in the season, this game could have playoff implications for these teams as they chase the top spot in the North Puget Sound division. For the Lancers, avoiding the sweep against the Bears could be paramount down the stretch.

GAME TONIGHT in BURIEN at 4 PMLANCERS vs. BEARS

(images and videos courtesy of Jake Knight with Burien-News)