Shortstop Kaleb Cain (3) swings hard at a pitch during the April 26 outing against Newport. Cain is the number one batter in the lineup for a reason, and is a highly efficient baserunner and scorer once he gets on base.
MEDICAL LAKE – Playoff baseball starts on May 7 for the Cardinal baseball team after they finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. Over the past week, they have dismantled Newport, Freeman, and Riverside putting Medical Lake at 16-4 on the season.
April 26 brought the Newport Grizzlies to town. The Cardinals started off a bit slow, but scored eight in the fifth inning after figuring the pitcher out according to Head Coach Austin Sharp. The scoring burst gave them the win over Newport 12-2.
"They got a pretty solid pitcher, and they probably have one of the better guys in the league," Sharp said. "It took us a little while to get used to him, but then in the fifth we were able to put up eight runs.
"We did a really good job of sticking with our game plan, and working on some of the fundamentals. We had 11 stolen bases, and five extra base hits. Our guys did really well offensively in that game."
The coach said Joe Griffey pitched the whole game getting the win in five innings due to the 10-run rule, allowing seven hits and striking out seven batters.
Griffey closed his regular season at 5-0 on the mound after the strong performance.
Three days later, the Cardinals traveled to Freeman and beat the Scotties 6-1. Medical Lake scored 6 runs in four innings against the opening Freeman pitcher, but lost traction when they faced the replacement.
Freeman's reliever allowed just one hit in four innings. Coach Sharp anticipates facing him again if they meet Freeman in the first round of the playoffs.
"It was good we got out into that early lead," Sharp said. "We just couldn't hit the second guys pitches very hard."
According to the coach the base running efforts and situational awareness of Kaleb Cain helped them win the game.
"Having Kaleb at the top of our lineup means that about 85 to 90% of the time he gets on base he scores a run," Sharp said. "He has 22 stolen bases on the season and his awareness allows him to get extra bases almost every time he gets out there. He's a good kid and turning into a solid ball player."
According to Sharp, Luke Dickey threw 89 pitches allowing two hits in five and two thirds innings racking up seven strikeouts and earning the win. Eugene Haas closed the game out throwing three strikeouts in one and a third innings.
Coach Sharp said being the teams' closer has become a comfortable position for Haas.
"He used to rely on his curve ball a lot last year but has really worked on his fastball," Sharp said. "Now he can get batters to chase a curve ball after throwing a couple fastball strikes. He has 16 strikeouts and one walk this season as a closer."
Monday, May 2 brought Riverside to Medical Lake and it also marked senior night for the Cardinal baseball team.
Sharp said his team hit the ground running, scoring13 runs in four innings and shutting out the Rams.
The offense was running well for the Cardinals as they pounded out 10 hits with five going for extra bases; three doubles and two triples were a big part of the nine earned runs.
Sharp said the late season offensive success has been due in large part to a couple of players showing an elite level of play.
"Joe Oliver has been our best hitter during our seven-game win streak," Sharp said. "He is batting over .700 in the last seven games, and that's been great for him. Same with Jalijah Meacham who has been on a tear. He struggled a bit at first, but has been batting .550 in that seven-game stretch."
Sharp said that even though his team played week to week with a light roster, finishing at 16-4 has made this one of the most successful seasons he has seen in years.
"That's about the best season we've had since 2015," Sharp said. "And probably the best regular season since 2021 in terms of wins and losses. We go into playoffs on Saturday to probably face Freeman again."
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