Sports
Eastlake Little League Advances to Quarterfinals of State Tournament
The Eastlake Little League has continued its hot run, winning its first two games at the Little League State Tournament over the weekend.
The Eastlake Little League All-Star baseball team won its first two games at the Little League State Tournament in Vancouver over the weekend and has advanced to the winner's bracket quarterfinal round.
Eastlake has now won nine games in a row, after taking the .
The All-Stars started the state tournament with a 15-2, five-inning win over West Seattle. Mark Whitley homered in that game, as Eastlake broke it open with an eight-run fourth-inning.
Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Eastlake faced a tougher opponent in the second round in the form of a squad from Kent, but repeated its recent recipe of finding a way to win. Bryce Freshour went 3 for 3 with three doubles and Will Bickford hit a monster homerun to provide the offense for Eastlake. Starting pitcher Josh Jayagaran shut down the Kent offense in a 5-1 win. Jayagaran struck out eleven in his complete-game effort.
"Josh pitched an amazing game," Eastlake manager Rob Carney said. "He did a great job against a pretty good hitting team."
Find out what's happening in Sammamish-Issaquahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Eastlake will play District 6 champion Salmon Creek in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday evening. Salmon Creek had a first-round bye before posting an 11-3 win over Spokane South on Sunday.
"We watched them play yesterday," Carney said Monday. "They look like a decent team, they have some big guys on it."
If Eastlake can get past Salmon Creek, they will play the winner of North Bothell/Alderwood on Wednesday for the chance to advance to the state title game. After posting a perfect record in their last nine games, Carney said his teams' confidence is at an all-time high.
"They're relaxed, they're playing more like they expect to win," Carney said. "They're playing really well and playing very confidently."
Update on July 28 at 9:45 a.m.: The Eastlake Little League team won on Tuesday evening, beating Salmon Creek by a score of 10 to 0. On Wednesday, Eastlake Little League lost to North Bothell in the state baseball tournament. The score was 3 to 6. Official stats: http://bit.ly/pIuwyK.
