McFeely powers Eagles

You can’t blame Travis Ishikawa for his enthusiasm. Federal Way’s senior first baseman hustled toward the dugout after teammate Shea McFeely threw a strikeout in the third inning. Problem was, it was only the second out of the inning.

But it’s understandable why Ishikawa was so excited to get up to bat. He hit a home run to leadoff the game in his first at bat, then hit an RBI double in the second inning.

Ishikawa’s performance at the plate — coupled with dominate pitching by McFeely — helped the Eagles to a 9-0 win over Decatur on Friday.

“We played really well together,” Ishikawa said. “We got great pitching from Shea, we played great defense and we swung the bats well. We have a lot more potential than what we showed today.”

McFeely threw six innings, recorded seven strikeouts and allowed only two hits and a walk to earn his first win of the regular season. He also hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning.

“Shea threw really well,” said Federal Way coach Eric Fiedler. “When he gets in a rhythm, it goes by pretty fast. (Decatur pitcher Brett) Lusebrink battled us. Any game where both pitchers are in control, it’s a battle.”

“It’s the first year my arm doesn’t hurt after the first game,” McFeely said. “We did everything well today. We had defense, pitching, hitting — it’s just like last year. We’re doing great at all of them.”

Ishikawa was 2-2 with a home run, a double and two walks. He also closed out the game by pitching the seventh inning, throwing two strikeouts in the process.

“You need your big dogs to perform for you,” Fiedler said. “Ishikawa is a tough guy to pitch to — I don’t like to pitch to him in batting practice.”

Decatur’s only two hits came when Jason Kurle led off the second inning with a single and when Mike Esbenshade hit a two-out double in the fifth inning.

After Ishikawa’s leadoff home run in the first inning, Federal Way scored again in the second inning with two outs. Junior Andre Piper-Jordan earned a walk, then stole second base. He scored when Ishikawa hit a double.

Federal Way scored in the fourth inning, again when Piper-Jordan worked a walk with two outs. He stole second, then third. Ishikawa was intentionally walked, and that brought up junior second baseman Greg Washington. Washington responded to the pressure and stroked an RBI single.

“Federal Way scored in the fifth inning after sophomore Thomas Watts hit a leadoff single. He made it to second base after Brandon Goff’s sacrifice bunt. One out later, senior catcher Jeff Krogman hit a two-out RBI double off the fence in left field.

The Eagles put the game away in the sixth inning. After two walks to start the inning, McFeely hit a 3-run home run. Kenny Yun reached base on an error, then Watts hit a double.

“Our No. 5 batter Watts looked very confident at the plate,” Fiedler said. “If our No. 5 through nine batters play well, we’ll score runs. Watts did that for us tonight.”

Goff followed with an RBI single, then Krogman earned an RBI when he was thrown out at first base on a fielder’s choice.

Federal Way 9, Decatur 0

Decatur......000 000 0

Federal Way..110 115 9

WP: Shea McFeely (1-0), 7 SO

LP: Brett Lusebrink (0-1)

Federal Way: Travis Ishikawa, 2-2, HR, 2b; Shea McFeely 1-2, 3-run HR; Kenny Yun 2-3; Thomas Watts, 2-3, 2B; Brandon Goff 1-3, RBI; Jeff Krogman, 1-4, 2B, RBI; Andre Piper-Jordan, 2 runs, 3 SB.

Decatur: Jason Kurle, 1-3; Mike Esbenshade, 1-3, 2B.

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