Jaguars cool off Raiders

In a high school baseball game played in a bone-chilling wind, nothing cooled off Thomas Jefferson’s Raiders more than Justin Ausler’s bat.

The Emerald Ridge centerfielder walloped a final-inning home run that broke up a tight duel and gave the Jaguars a 3-2 South Puget Sound League victory last Friday.

A first-inning run on pitcher Tyler Walker’s double and Todd Turner’s single gave host Jefferson the lead until Emerald Ridge scored twice in the fifth inning. Pitcher Larry Brownell’s sharp, bases-loaded single up the middle drove in both runs for the Jags.

Jefferson rallied in the bottom of the fifth, starting with Walker’s leadoff single. He scored on Jared Tackett’s double over the head of Ausler in centerfield.

Ausler got redemption in the seventh inning with his leadoff homer, a booming shot over the leftfield fence at the expense of relief pitcher Tony Barnette.

The Raiders didn’t go quietly, getting runners to second and third on Cody Whitney’s one-out sacrifice bunt. But the final rally ended with Tackett’s fly-out.

Federal Way 3, Curtis 0

Shea McFeely’s arm and Travis Ishikawa’s bat powered Federal Way past Curtis in a South Puget Sound League contest last Friday.

McFeely, a senior pitcher, blanked the host Vikings on a one-hitter, striking out 10 foes along the way.

Ishikawa, following a two-homer performance against Puyallup two days earlier, hit a home run as Federal Way scored once in the first inning and the rest of its runs in the second.

Federal Way 10, Puyallup 0

Ishikawa’s two home runs and Kenny Yuri’s three hits highlighted the Eagles’ 15-hit onslaught in an SPSL contest Wednesday.

Spanaway Lake 4, Decatur 2

Host Spanaway Lake scored all its runs in the first inning and made them stand up for an SPSL victory Wednesday over the Gators.

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