In a see-saw game that would determine which team advanced to the state tournament, Bainbridge defeated Juanita, 7-4, on May 12 in a loser-out 3A KingCo/Metro crossover contest.

Juanita led, 4-3, in the top of the sixth inning at the Southwest Athletic Complex in West Seattle. In the bottom of the inning, Bainbridge answered with four runs and held on for the victory.

Ryan Trautmann had two hits and one RBI for Juanita, which also received two hits from Seth Riedel, a triple and two RBIs from Jayson Schroeder and one hit and one RBI from Matthew McKeag. Schroeder took the loss on the mound.

Juanita led 1-0 in the top of the third and Bainbridge scored three runs in the bottom of the inning. The Rebels came roaring back with the three runs in the sixth.

JUANITA/LW REMATCH

For the second time in two weeks, Juanita defeated cross-town rival Lake Washington, this time 7-2 on May 8 to advance in the 3A KingCo baseball tournament at Bannerwood Park. LW finished its season with the loss.

Juanita led 4-0 after two innings and upped its advantage to 7-0 in the top of the fifth. LW scored runs in the fifth and seventh innings, but couldn’t catch the Rebels.

Schroeder earned the win for Juanita, going five innings and fanning seven batters. JD Worcester sealed the victory with two innings pitched.

Juanita’s Trautmann had two hits, including a double; Taylor Peterson had two hits and one RBI; Kyle Taylor had a single and two RBIs; McKeag had a single and an RBI; and Adam Petter doubled. For LW, Travis Lee had two hits, including a double.

Following the previous Kirkland matchup, Juanita head coach Brian Shannon said the Rebel/Kang games are always exciting, well-played contests.

Juanita turned up the heat in the last month or so.

“We kind of had a turning point in the middle of the season when we started to swing a little bit better and the dugout was really in the game and kept up the energy,” Shannon added. “We seem to hit better when everyone’s in it, picking each other up.”

As for Schroeder, the University of Washington-bound hurler is feeling comfortable on the mound.

“I feel like every time I practice, I go out there and I warm up like there’s 30 scouts watching, so I feel like I just carry that over to the game,” he said after last week’s game. “Just work hard, I enjoy what I do.”

On the scouts that show up whenever Schroeder pitches, he noted: “It was little nervous at first, but it kind of built up to it. You just gotta tune ‘em out, just do the thing you love.”