The regular season is nearing its close on the 4A KingCo baseball diamond, with the top four teams from each division headed to the conference tournament for 4A state berths. Skyline and Issaquah remain squarely in the mix in the Crown, along with Newport and Roosevelt.
In the Crest, Eastlake is likely headed to the third seed, but can put some pressure on second place Bothell and frontrunner Redmond with a strong final week.
Here’s a look at what each team has remaining, and how they can claim a division title and top seed in next weekend’s KingCo tournament.
Skyline
Remaining games
4/28 Roosevelt; 4/30 @ Issaquah; 5/2 Newport
Road to the top
Three wins will give Skyline a third straight division championship, and a third try in as many years to get to the 4A state tournament.
The Spartans beat Issaquah 4-3 in the first meeting, while Roosevelt (1-0) and Newport (2-1) edged them out.
Those games were played on three consecutive days, with three pitchers going the distance.
Number that matters
8.2: A 10-2 win over Garfield last week ended a short two-game losing streak for Skyline, which had won four consecutive before that to take control of the division race.
The Spartans, which scored seven runs combined in losses to Inglemoor and Redmond, are averaging 8.2 runs per contest in their last five wins.
Reporter prediction: 2-1, Second place Crown Division
Issaquah
Remaining games
4/28 @ Garfield; 4/30 Skyline; 5/2 Ballard; 5/5 @ Roosevelt
Road to the top
Issaquah also controls its own destiny in the division, and can secure at least a tie with Newport for the top spot in the Crown with four more wins.
The Eagles beat Garfield and Ballard, and lost to Skyline and Roosevelt by one run each.
Number that matters
4: Issaquah has ended each of its last three wins with at least four runs batted in as a team, knocking in five each against Woodinville and Newport.
Seven different players have an RBI in those three wins in what is proving a balanced Eagles’ lineup.
Reporter prediction: 4-0, First place Crown Division
Eastlake
Remaining games
4/28 @ Bothell; 4/30 @ Woodinville; 5/2 Inglemoor; 5/5 Redmond
Road to the top
The final four games include one each against first place Redmond and second place Bothell, both of which took one-run contests from the Wolves the first time around.
Eastlake handled its other two remaining foes by a combined score of 13-1.
They could potentially finish with the same conference record as either the Mustangs or Cougars with four wins in the final four games.
Number that matters
1: The number of runs scored against Bothell and Redmond combined in the first run through league play, and also the number of earned runs allowed by pitcher Mick Vorhof in 14 innings.
Bothell won a 2-1 game, and Redmond beat Eastlake 1-0 the first time around.
Vorhof took the loss both times on the mound, despite 16 strikeouts and only one earned run allowed in the two games. He worked all eight frames against the Cougars in an extra-inning affair.
Reporter prediction: 2-2, Third place Crest Division
