The Pirates varsity baseball team traveled to eastern Washington on Friday April 2 to play the Cashmere Bulldogs and the Chelan Goats. Unfortunately, after sitting in traffic for two hours waiting for Snoqualmie Pass to re-open, snow canceled the Friday game with Cashmere.
On Saturday − under 45 degree sunny skies and winds gusting to 25 mph − the team traveled north for a double header in Chelan. Strong pitching and solid defense dominated game one, with the Pirates prevailing in a 3 to 2 win.
Wes Paulsen pitched a complete game striking out 7. Chelan pitchers struck out 14 Pirates and allowed just three hits, but two of them were long balls from the bat of sophomore Julian Smith.
In the top of the 2nd inning with Senior Wes Paulsen reaching base on an error, Smith crushed a fastball over the left field fence for a two-run home run. In the 4th he connected again for a solo wind aided home run to left center. Smith now has four home runs for the season.
Junior Peter Johnson added a single to right field in the 3rd inning but was left stranded at second. The Pirate defense was solid with consistent play by senior shortstop Matt Amick, a momentum ending pick-off of a Goat runner at 3rd by catcher Johnson, and an outstanding diving catch by second baseman Smith in the bottom of the 5th.
In game two, Vashon jumped on the Goats for three quick runs in the first. 
Peter Johnson led off the game with a double down the right field line, senior Joe Gilmour reached first base on a single, and Matt Amick walked to load the bases. Junior left fielder Matt Dick delivered a key base hit to right field for two RBIs. Senior pitcher Matt Amick retired the Goats in order in the bottom of the 1st.
In the bottom of the 2nd, the Goats scored one quickly and were threatening with a runner at third when they attempted a suicide squeeze. The batter couldn’t bunt an Amick curve ball and Johnson tagged out the runner coming home.
The Pirates added two runs in the top of the third and in the bottom of the inning the Goats scored three and were threatening, but the Pirate defense stepped up. Left fielder Matt Dick charged a line drive single and threw a rope to Johnson who tagged out a runner trying to score. The inning ended when Johnson threw out a Goat attempting to steal second base.
In the top of the 4th sophomore Joe Wald recorded his second varsity hit, and in the bottom of the inning Pirate center fielder freshman Zach Drape made two outstanding diving catches to stop a Goat charge.
In the top of the 5th, Amick, Paulsen, and Dick combined for three singles to add one run and in the 7th Smith added a double to score Joe Gilmour who had reached on an error. Amick pitched a complete game, striking out 6, as the Pirates recorded a 7 to 5 win.
Coach Steve Hall summed up the trip — “I am very proud of the boys for overcoming a rough week with three straight rain outs and a two-hour wait on the pass before finally being able to play a double header against a talented Chelan team that had upset Orting earlier in the year.
While we didn’t hit as we would have liked, we had outstanding pitching by Wes Paulsen and Matt Amick, and stellar defense by catcher Peter Johnson − who was brilliant for 14 innings behind the plate − along with a couple of big catches by centerfielder Zach Drape and Matt Dick in leftfield. The Pirates infield was solid with Amick and Julian Smith at shortstop, Ben Reoux at second and Paulsen at first. Smith was huge with his bat and it really sparked the team. It was a fun weekend and thanks to all the parents who helped, with special thanks to Greg Bernheisel for driving and Jeff Johnson for all his help putting this together.”
