Enumclaw High pitching ace Andrew Olson tossed a gem Friday evening at Osborne Field, shutting out White River 5-0 to help his team clinch a share of the South Puget Sound League 3A title.
Enumclaw finished the 2009 regular campaign with a 13-3 league mark, identical to that of Auburn Mountainview, which by virtue of beating Enumclaw twice during the regular season will emerge as the No. 1 seed out of the SPSL 3A for postseason purposes.
Enumclaw skipper Eric Fiedler said his diamond dogs would probably be making up a couple of nonleague rainouts this week just to stave off the rust before the second season begins.
The next encounter holding any real significance for EHS will come at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Russell Road Fields in Kent, when the Hornets will rendezvous with the No. 2 seed out of the Seamount League, the Highline High Pirates, who finished their regular season at 12-4.
Olson registered one his better outings against White River in what has already been a golden season, as he has accrued a 5-2 personal record and owns an earned run average of about 1.5, in 85.1 innings worked.
Against White River, the senior southpaw toiled for seven innings in a dust storm, allowing a pair of hits while walking three WRHS batters and notching eight strikeouts.
“We just hoped to stay close in the first four or five innings and go from there, but I thought Olson did a really good job of hitting his spots and going the distance on us,” White River coach Mike Williams said.
Grinning broadly after the cross-river clash for which he was given a week’s rest to prepare for, Olson said that it was reassuring to have the stable defensive leather backing him up, in addition to the offensive support. “It truly allows a pitcher to feel more confident out there on the mound when he is working with a lead,” he said.
Cody Hughes and Beau Matthias smacked home runs in the second and fifth innings, respectively, to spark the EHS victory.
Enumclaw rang up its 11th and 12th conquests April 28 and 29 when it hosted Lakes, crushing the Lancers 14-3 in five frames, and then traveled to Franklin Pierce and thrashed the Cards 7-2.
Assistant coaches Steve Murphy and Frank Lucarelli talked Fiedler into holding off starting Olson until the White River game. “They told me that the other regular starters, Casey Clare and Kyle Messer, have been doing quite well lately and that by starting them, they could earn a few more innings of live game experience and Olson could get some rest before the playoffs begin this week,” Fiedler said.
“I’m glad I took their advice, because Andrew responded well with a gutsy performance. He had to have some fluid drained from a cyst in his back the day of the game and he was feeling a bit weak from that, but he had the two-seam fastball working for him.”
Pitching is not the only attribute that has enabled the Hornets to tabulate triumphs along the way, as Fiedler said that his boys have been strong from the plate as well.
Aside from top hitters like Brent Hagen, Tyler Davis and Kyle Baumgartner, versatile sophomore Cody Hughes went 6-for-9 from the plate last week with three hits in the drubbing of Lakes, a double against Franklin Pierce, a solo homer against White River and seven RBIs for the week.
Fiedler added it is nice to have the luxury of being able to hand-pick a few players from Enumclaw’s undefeated 15-0 junior varsity contingent before entering the rigors of the postseason. Included in that foursome of greenhorn farmhands will be Tyler Carlson, Kevin Johnson and catchers D.J. Hitch and Trenton Disque.
Reach John Leggett at jleggett@courierherald.com or 360-802-8207.
