Cardinal boys notch big baseball wins

MEDICAL LAKE It was about as good a week as could be leading into spring break for Medical Lake baseball.

The Cardinals surpassed coach Austin Sharp's goals during arguably the most difficult stretch of the early season schedule by winning two of three games and - in dramatic fashion to boot.

First on March 26 they toppled Deer Park, 7-6 on the road, holding off and beating the Stags for the first time since 2019.

Then at home March 30, Medical Lake engineered a split in a doubleheader against Freeman with a walk-off 9-8 win in the opener before being zapped 10-1 in the second game.

Combined with their sweep of Colville March 23, Medical Lake's youthful lineup sits tied with Lakeside on top of the Northeast A-League standings with 4-1 records.

Behind the pitching of senior left-hander Kendrick Perkins at Deer Park, the Cardinals both kept the Stags "off balance," and off the bases. "I think the first nine or 10 guys didn't have a hit," Sharp said.

Perkins aided his cause with a bunt hit, but maybe more importantly, when pulled after reaching hit pitch count and shifting it the outfield, made a clutch catch in right.

"I would say our player of the day was definitely Kenny Perkins," Sharp said.

Medical Lake struck early leading 5-0 after two innings, then late with single runs in the fifth and sixth to lead 7-5. They held off Deer Park in the late innings.

Ian Thompson and Taylor Oliver each had a pair of hits for ML, half the team's entire total.

In a game where they trailed almost immediately when Freeman scored twice in both the first and second innings, Medical Lake put together big innings three times. A 3-run third tied the game 4-4 and then in the fifth, three more runs sliced into the Scotties' 8-4 lead.

But it was the bottom of the seventh that will be in players' memories long after this season.

With one out and runners Zach Boyd and AJ Michaud on first and second, Sharp thought - for a moment at least - to have Clint Zimmerman bunt them along.

"But Clint had been hitting so well for the last couple of weeks we decided to let him swing," Sharp said.

With the Freeman infield playing in and expecting the bunt, Zimmerman instead ripped a shot down the third base line scoring AJ Michaud. And when the left fielder slipped playing the ball it also allowed Boyd to score the winning run.

Michaud and Zimmerman each had a pair of hits for the Cardinals, all singles.

Perhaps following the finish in game one, all the air was out of Medical Lake in game two as Freeman had a 5-0 lead after two innings and 8-0 after four. Thompson had two of ML's five hits, both for extra bases with a double and triple.

Medical Lake played three games over spring break, a single with Timberlake form Spirit Lake, Idaho, April 2, and a pair with Reardan, April 3. They resume NEA play April 9 at Riverside.