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Game Recap - South Kitsap at Curtis

March 22, 2019
Greg McCall
Associate Scout

University Place, WA – We got our first look at Curtis on Friday afternoon when they took on South Kitsap. ’19 RHP Henry Parker, Columbia Basin College commit, started for Curtis against uncommitted ’20 RHP Tim Reidy for South Kitsap. Curtis would eventually outlast South Kitsap for a 3-2 victory in 8 innings on a windy, overcast afternoon

Game Recap

Uncommitted ’21 OF Sam Canton got South Kitsap going early with leadoff infield single in the first inning. After a sac bunt and a ground ball to second, Canton moved to third base before eventually scoring on an error for a 1-0 lead.

After Curtis failed to push across any runs in the 1st and 2nd, South Kitsap was threatening to extend their lead in the top of the 3rd.  Another single from Canton, followed by an error and a bunt single by ’19 OF Jacob Duarte loaded the bases for South Kitsap. With 1 out, ’19 Nathaniel Beers ripped a single off the 3rd baseman’s glove for a RBI hit. Curtis then went to their bullpen and brought in ’20 Alex Grabowski, who escaped the jam after inducing an infield pop-up and a groundout.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Curtis finally got something going on offense. After 2 hits and a HBP loaded the bases, uncommitted ’19 OF Cooper Budnick roped a single into left-center to score 2 runners and tie up the ballgame. With the score now tied, South Kitsap went to ’19 RHP Hunter McKlosky in the 5th to relieve Reidy.

After McKlosky kept Curtis off the board in the bottom of the 5th, ‘19 Nathaniel Beers and ’19 Stratton Fazio had back-to-back singles to begin the 6th inning for South Kitsap. They then attempted to advance both runners into scoring position with a sac bunt. But the ball was popped up just high enough for ’19 C Jason Tutton, another Columbia Basin College commit, to make the catch in foul territory and fire a strike to second base to double-up the runner.  Curtis shortstop ’20 Kyle Russell, an Oregon baseball commit, made an athletic play stretching for the catch from Tutton while keeping his foot on second base. This ended up being a huge play in the game and shifted the momentum in favor of Curtis.

Grabowski responded by keeping South Kitsap off the board in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings.  McKlosky matched Grabowski with zeroes and was cruising until uncommitted ‘20 OF Noah Claxton singled up the middle with one out in the bottom of the 8th inning.  He proceeded to steal second base.  That brought up ’20 UTIL Jude Rowley, who hit a groundball to second base. After the 4-3 put-out, the South Kitsap first baseman then tried to throw out Claxton while he was attempting to advance to third. The ball got past the third baseman though and that allowed Claxton to come home and score the game winning run in walk-off fashion.  

Player Notes:

’21 Sam Canton, ’19 Nathaniel Beers, and ’19 Stratton Fazio all collected 2 hits each on the day for South Kitsap.

For Curtis, leadoff hitter and Centralia College commit Cole Smith had 2 singles.  ’20 Noah Claxton and ’19 Cooper Burdick also added 2 hits each.

’20 SS Kyle Russell, Oregon commit, didn’t have a hit on the day but lined into a double play and hit another hard-line drive to right field that the wind knocked down in his last at bat. In the box, starts with a slightly open stance from the right side with a small leg lift. Bat gets into the zone and on plane quick. Used the middle of the field in all 3 at bats. Moved well in pregame at SS. Does an efficient job of moving his feet to get to his fielding position. Showed a smooth transfer turning double plays during pregame. At 6-foot-1, Russell has a presently solid frame with the chance to fill out his build even more.

’20 Alex Grabowski worked a solid 5+ innings in relief for Curtis. Consistently mixed his pitches to keep hitters off balance and attacked both sides of the plate. Competitive demeanor on the mound. Wasn’t afraid to pitch to contact. Didn’t allow any BB or HBP during his outing. Understands how to utilize secondary offerings to make FB even more effective.