Blackburn’s walk-off lifts Juanita over Sammamish in nine innings | Prep baseball

The final few moments of Friday's thriller at Lee Johnson Field in downtown Kirkland were such that you'd likely have to have been there to believed they happened.

April 16, 2016 11:45 pm

The final few moments of Friday’s thriller at Lee Johnson Field in downtown Kirkland were such that you’d likely have to have been there to believed they happened.

The Juanita High baseball team pulled off a stunning 10-9 KingCo League win over Sammamish on Friday behind a walk-off double from Christian Blackburn in the bottom of the ninth inning, erasing a two-run deficit in extra innings.

“I’m not sure that I’ve ever hit anything quite as exciting as that,” said Blackburn. “[At the plate, I’m trying not to screw up too bad. I’m just trying to make contact. I’m just shaking right now, just still in the moment.”

The Rebels (6-8 overall, 6-7) trailed 7-3 early, but scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. Innings six, seven and eight came with no score, but Sammamish (1-13 0-13) scored two runs on a double with two outs in the top of the ninth.

Juanita pulled a run back on an RBI single from Carter Rusch, but when Cody Wilson was K’ed for the second out of the inning, the Rebels turned to Blackburn with runners on first and second.

Blackburn hopped out of the way of the first pitch, but got every ounce of the second offering, dropping a line drive into left center field.

Orion Enfield scored easily as Rusch rounded third base, but as he neared the plate, Rusch slowed to celebrate the apparent victory. Little did he know, the baseball was speeding over the diamond toward the catcher.

“I thought Carter [Rusch] was going to be out for a second, because he was standing up and the ball was almost to the man,” Blackburn said. “I got so scared for a second, standing at second base, I was shaking in my boots.”

Rusch beat the catcher by inches, throwing a desperation Euro-step at the last second.

Rebels’ coach Mark Peterson said the Totems were far better than their record in league, especially judging by the roughing Sammamish gave one of Juanita’s rotating starters, Dexter Mell, who gave up five hits and four earned runs in the first two innings.

“We’re not playing great all the time,” Peterson said. “When we do, it works. When we don’t, we’ve got to fight through it and have a game like this where we get kicked in the teeth a couple times and come back and show what we’re made of, if we can.”

JD Worchester took over in the third inning, going 5.1 innings with nine strikeouts and only two hits. Rusch was credited with the win, going the final two outs of the eigth and the ninth inning.

• Newport 11, Juanita 5. The Rebels jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first, but gave up 11 unanswered runs in a nonleague loss to Newport on Saturday in Bellevue.
Juanita scored on an errors, an RBI single from Rusch, a bases-loaded walk, when Zach Lofquist was hit by a pitch, and on a sacrifice fly ball from Enfield.
Newport (5-8) went to a new pitcher, and closed out the game by outhitting Juanita 14-5.
Next, the Rebels are scheduled to play at Interlake High School at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 18, in Bellevue.