Last month, during a stretch of weekends when Everett played each of their regional opponents twice, they went 8-0. Last weekend, their previous wins paid off.
“Having a tiebreaker over every team is huge, that first time through when we played everybody twice, being able sweep all four teams was big for us,” said Head Coach Keith Hessler. “It put us in the driver’s seat going into the four game weekend series.”
The Trojans resumed their season series with Bellevue College on Saturday, looking to take at least two of four to earn the head-to-head advantage in the standings.
Despite a couple lopsided scores and uneven performances on the mound, they were able to do just that.
Game one was scoreless into the bottom of the fourth, when Trojans starter Wyatt Queen allowed his only run of the game on an RBI single.
Queen’s offense got that run back for him and then some, and in a hurry. Everett plated two runs in the fifth and then again in the sixth, with Jonah Shull driving in a run in each frame.
Overall, Shull went 3-5 on the day with two RBIs, raising his batting average to .317.
Queen left after four strong innings, having allowed one run on four hits with two walks and five punchouts.
From there, AJ Hendrickson, Jacob Petersen and Nathan Harb combined for the next five innings, sealing the win at a score of 4-2.
As Bellevue got even in game two, Everett sent seven pitchers to the mound. Only two, Brandon Brunette and Ben Hewitt, were able to work scoreless innings.
Shull continued his hot hitting, collecting another two hits and two RBIs, but the offense just couldn’t keep up, and the Trojans settled for a split, losing 10-5.
“We couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Hessler said. “We were looking for someone to come out of the pen to do that, so it kinda kept snowballing on us.”
The team came home Sunday, and their struggles on the mound evaporated almost instantly.
In need of a strong outing from their starter to save a beleaguered bullpen, Hessler handed the ball to sophomore righty Ethan Hubbell.
Buoyed by five runs through the first four innings, including two more RBIs from Shull, Hubbell tossed eight innings of four hit, one run ball with eight strikeouts.
“My cutter today was working really good… my changeup was also working really good today,” Hubbell said. “I love helping the team out. They needed me to go eight today… so I just had to get the job done.”
Nathab Harb came on for the ninth and finished the game off with a scoreless frame.
Following the previous day’s pattern, Everett dropped game two after a lopsided outing from their starting pitcher.
Mason Devinney entered in the second and worked four and a third shutout innings, giving his offense a chance to get back in the game. Blake Sandvik and Ben Hewitt followed with three more scoreless frames.
Alas, the lineup just couldn’t get in gear, mustering six hits and six walks, but converting their traffic on the basepaths to just one run.
Despite an uneven performance from the pitching staff over the weekend, Hessler was impressed by what he saw on Sunday.
“Mason (Devinney) came after a rough second inning with Landon (Welter) and did what we needed him to do, put up a lot of zeros. That was good to see, especially after yesterday.”
With 16 games remaining, the coaching staff has already put the Bellevue series in the rearview and is looking forward to their next matchup, with an occasional peek at the standings mixed in.
“I pay attention to the standings, I think me and my coaching staff, we do it,” Hessler said. “I’m sure the players do it on their own, but we don’t really promote it to our players.”
The Trojans hope to continue their momentum next weekend against Shoreline, at home on Saturday, April 27 and on the road Sunday, April 28.
“If we can take care of business we’re in a good position to control our own destiny. Right now it’s just looking at Shoreline, that’s all we’re worried about,” Hessler said.
