Jefferson tops Decatur in Federal Way baseball thriller

Published 4:49 pm Thursday, April 23, 2015

Thomas Jefferson High School’s baseball team has had a bit of an up and down year. They began the year with a 4-1 record and looked to be contenders in the division. They then lost seven straight.

The losing streak put them in danger of missing the playoffs and facing a must-win situation against Decatur on April 17. A win over league foe Mount Rainier earlier in the week put them in position to jump the Rams in the standings with a win.

Decatur has the opposite story.

After a rough start, they cruised through league play with only a misstep against Federal Way, boasting a league record of 7-1. They were already locked into a battle for the division with Beamer starting on April 13.

Still, they had no intentions of losing after taking the previous two games against Jefferson in the series. Decatur won with a fourth inning grand slam on April 14 and in extra innings on April 16.

The excitement did not lessen on April 17 as Jefferson pulled out a 9-8 win and climbed to fourth in the South Puget Sound League Northwest. This gave them the opportunity to pass Federal Way if they beat them two out of three times.

The runs came early for both teams. After a quick first half inning for Decatur, Jefferson put two runs on the board with four hits.

Decatur answered back quickly with five runs in the top of the second. Brian Ponce delivered two of the RBIs on a single. He later scored on a Tyler Swanson double.

Jefferson did not go away, however, responding with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second, bringing the score to 5-4. They looked to tie the game, but Blake Null was thrown out sliding into home.

After an uneventful third inning, the runs came again in the fourth. Isaiah Hatch drove in two of three runs for Decatur in the inning on a double, the only hit for him on the day.

Jefferson responded with three more runs of their own to keep the game in reach at 8-7.

The top of the fifth inning saw a moment of confusion when it looked as though Decatur’s Garrett Westberg scored on a double, but after the play had seemingly run its course, it was ruled a foul ball.

The Gators lead remained at 8-7 through the bottom of the seventh.

With runners on base and one out, Raiders head coach Joseph Townsend decided to go to his bench for a pinch hitter. That pinch hitter was freshman Darnell Calugay, who seemed more out of place than normal with his red uniform.

After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Calugay rewarded his coach’s decision to put him in with a base hit.

On the next at-bat, Michael Ziccarelli ended the game on a base hit that brought home Sean Kim and Avery Cantino-Kennedy for the 9-8 win.

The coach named Tyson Sonnfeld the player of the game after going 4-4 on the day, including a key base hit in the seventh and both doubles for the Raiders.

“These young guys played a great week of baseball,” Townsend said. “Our record for the week doesn’t show how good we played. All you can ask for is for them to put themselves in a position to win a game. Today they came through. I’m their biggest fan.”

The win brought Jefferson’s record to 3-6 in league and 6-9 overall. They began a key series with Federal Way Monday and lost 10-2.

Decatur fell to 7-2 in league play and 10-5 overall. They fell to Beamer 4-3, 4-1 and 12-6 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in a series that decided the South Puget Sound League Northwest.

Decatur’s Brian Ponce slides into home plate during the second inning. Ponce also hit for two RBIs in the inning. Terrence Hill, the Mirror

Jefferson’s Tyson Sonnfeld hits for a double against Decatur on April 17. He was 4-4 on the day. Terrence Hill, the Mirror