Tomahawk baseball executes well in win over Arlington

Marysville-Pilchuck baseball is not the kind of team to make mistakes against.

By Danielle Szulczewski • April 9, 2009 6:00 pm
Arlington runner Curtis Johnson slides into second as M-P shortstop Steve Shane turns the double play at second base.
Arlington runner Curtis Johnson slides into second as M-P shortstop Steve Shane turns the double play at second base.

MARYSVILLE — Marysville-Pilchuck baseball is not the kind of team to make mistakes against.

That’s what Arlington learned in the teams’ first meeting of the season April 8. The Tomahawks kept their errors to a minimum and maximized their talent at the plate, winning 11-2.

On a sacrifice fly, third baseman Tyler Holm batted in Levi Cartas’ leadoff triple to give M-P a one-run lead after an inning of play. That lead extended by three in the second inning, bookended by doubles from Kyle Pace and Cartas, the latter scoring two more runs for Marysville and Holm added another RBI. It was 8-0 by the top of the fourth before Arlington third baseman Justin Surber followed his second-inning hit with another appearance on base, scored in by outfielder Brandon Pierce.

Pierce and Arlington first baseman Jeff Huge were left stranded on base though, as Tomahawk pitcher Brennen Steinbaugh closed out the inning with a strikeout.

The game’s remaining four runs all came from homers spread between the teams. Tomahawk junior Austin Denton earned a solo — his fourth of the season — to lead off the fourth inning while Arlington’s Joel Larson — filling in the four-hole for starting pitcher Jon Van Eyk — kicked off the top of the sixth inning with a home run of his own, making it a 9-2 game. The Tomahawk defense dropped the next three Arlington batters, including a 4-6-3 double play between Josh Estella, Steve Shane and Devin Peterson.

M-P coach Kurt Koshelnik said that while his entire team shows a lot of talent, he’s particularly pleased with what he’s seeing from his infield defense.

“We put pressure on teams. Hopefully at some point, we break their backs a little,” he said. “We’ve benefitted from teams making mistakes.”

Marysville kept up their batting in the bottom of the sixth as Denton walked and Estella batted him in on his own shot over the center field fence.

“That one was just there for me,” Estella said after the game, referring to his second home run of the season.

Arlington coach Erik Heinz said he expects senior Kyle Ayres to start on the mound in second game of the series, April 10 in Arlington. He added that the Eagles will need to execute better on defense to be competitive.

“Marysville’s a great team and they hit the ball well,” he said, “We made some mistakes, but we had some great hits.”

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