Baseball splits with Everett, regular season finale on deck

After dropping two heartbreaking one-run losses to Everett on Monday night to open the series, Edmonds baseball responded with two important victories on Tuesday night at home to split their recent North Region series. Monday's sometimes wet doubleheader at Funko Field ended up being a tale of two pitcher's duels, and the final tilt of the series was a mirror of the first two. In all the Triton pitching staff dazzled, giving up just two earned runs in the four games against the No. 3-ranked team in the NWAC. 

Game 1: Everett was able to breakthrough for one run in the bottom of the sixth inning off starter Will Franklin, and that was enough as the Trojans blanked the Tritons 1-0. Franklin, who has been steady as they come, went seven innings and scattered five hits. He fanned seven batters and gave the squad a chance to win. The offense mustered five hits but couldn't get any across.

Game 2: Similar to the first game, no runs were scored until the final frame when Michael Snyder fouled off numerous pitches before delivering a single up the middle to score Cole Murawski. In the bottom of the ninth reliever Matt Capel was unable to preserve the lead as two wild pitches plated the tying and winning run, propelling Everett to a dramatic 2-1 triumph. Again, the Triton had five hits; Everett had three in the game. Lathan Haywood was outstanding in eight innings of work.

Game 3: Edmonds smacked 16 hits to top Everett 8-1 in the first game back at home, leading to the Trojans' starting pitcher to exit the game in the third inning. Logan Blank, who continues his dominance at the plate, clubbed four hits, and five more Triton batters notched two hits apiece (Cole Watterson, Michael Snyder, Levi Joyce, Camden Gillespie, Chris Rogers). Sheldon Egger struck out eight and got the win, blanking the Trojan offense for seven innings. Eli Knowlton hurled two perfect innings to finish off the game. Blank is the NWAC's top hitter with a staggering .408 average and has simply been unconscious in conference play. 

Game 4: The series finale was another tight one with Edmonds hanging on late, 2-1. Chris Rogers scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and drove in the other Triton run in the seventh. Matthew DelVecchio was stellar, with nine punchouts, and gave up just one hit in eight innings. When the first Trojan runner reached base in the top of the ninth reliever John Vaara was called on. Vaara allowed two hits, but hung tough and put the game away with an emphatic strikeout of Cooper McBride with runners in scoring position.

Edmonds (21-16, 12-8), who is ranked No. 8, will complete the regular season with a series versus Shoreline (10-28, 3-17) that begins at Triton Field on Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m. The Triton sophomores will be honored between games. If the team can notch two wins, they will finish as the No. 2 seed from the North Region (they own the tiebreaker over third place Bellevue) and will host an NWAC Super Regional the following weekend, May 17-18.