Eastlake baseball wraps incredible season, moves onto district final
The Eastlake Wolves have not experienced a full-length season since in 2019. Their 2020 season was completely canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, their incredible 9-1 record run during the 2021 season was shortened due to the gradual shift to in-person learning. This year, though, the Wolves came back stronger than ever, finishing their regular season with a 14-6 overall record, which included a seven-game win streak.
The team started strong with their first game against Liberty High School on March 12. Noah Weintraub and Will Woodward led with two runs each. Blake Borup, Luke Schlecht, Luke Murawski, Grady Woodward, and Bryce Johnson followed close behind, each contributing one run, for a final score of 9-2 and a win to open the season.
The Wolves faced some tough competition during the next five games. The game with O’Dea on March 18 resulted in a close 10-9 loss. Four days later, the team defeated Inglemoor 12-2 with Weintraub having a great outing, scoring three runs. Unfortunately, Eastlake entered a rough patch with three losses in a row against Skyline (7-5), Mount Si (5-2), and Issaquah (4-2) between March 23 and 28.
Undeterred, the Wolves made a breakthrough on March 30 against the Woodinville Falcons. Thanks to three runs each from Weintraub, Will Woodward, Grady Woodward, and Murawski, the Wolves triumphed with a 16-13 victory.
The win against the Falcons kicked off a welcomed change in momentum for Eastlake, allowing the Wolves to continue their dominant district play. Wins against Bothell (11-0), Newport (12-2), North Creek (5-1), Redmond (8-1), Inglemoor (5-1), and Skyline (3-1) saw the team deliver a seven-game win streak from April 1 to April 13. Padding the team stats, Eastlake finally had its first homerun of the season by Grady Woodward in their game against North Creek on April 6.
A small fumble came when Eastlake squared-off in a rematch against the Mount Si Wildcats on April 15. Despite having a higher batting average compared to the Wildcats, the Wolves fell short 10-8, breaking their win streak. But the rematch was not all bad news, as Will Woodward hit his first homerun of the season.
The loss against Mt. Si did not break the Wolves’ spirit. Eastlake came back and delivered two consecutive victories against Newport (3-1) and North Creek (9-1). A close 2-1 win against Redmond gave the Wolves a decent cap to their regular season during the last two weeks of April.
Eastlake is now poised to play in the finals of district competition. In their first game of the playoffs, the Wolves faced Glacier Peak at Everett Memorial Stadium on Saturday, May 7. With an 8-4 victory against Glacier Peak and a 10-3 victory against Bothell on May 10, the Wolves will be facing Issaquah later this week for the district championship title.
With this season and post-season record, it is likely that Eastlake will qualify for the state tournament, which starts on May 21.
The entire district playoff schedule can be found here.
