Lake Washington dominates Eastlake 15-5 in shortened game
In a game full of momentum swings and explosive innings, the Lake Washington Kangaroos (Kangs) overpowered the Eastlake Wolves, 15-5, ending the matchup in just five innings.
The Kangs got off to a slow start in the first, with Noah Kwon and Boden Reeve each flying out. Aidan Mehlberg reached first on a single, followed by Will Cooley getting on base. But Aidan Mehlberg was caught trying to advance to second, ending the inning scoreless.
Eastlake wasted no time responding. Thomas Wood led with a double, and Rodrigo Montano was hit by a pitch. With runners on first and second, Cody O’Donnell laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. After Larson Kohlmann struck out for the first out in the bottom of the first, Noah Koong was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Dominic Miller then delivered, driving in both Wood and Montano for two RBIs. Travis Beam followed with a hit that scored Koong, making it 3-0. With Miller on third and Beam on second, Kade Haroldsen came through with a double to score them both, giving Eastlake the early 5-0 lead.
With such a large deficit to make up, Lake Washington rallied immediately. Cooley led off the second inning with a single and was batted in on a single from Kane Nishikawa. Gavin Johnson added another single to move runners up, and Brady O’Cain’s sacrifice bunt advanced both. With runners on second and third, Logan Schuster drove in Nishikawa and Cooley, cutting Eastlake’s lead to 5-3. Noah Kwon struck out to end the threat.
Eastlake’s bats cooled in the bottom of the second, managing only a single from O’Donnell as the rest of the line-up grounded out leaving O’Donnell stranded.
In the top of the third, Lake Washington exploded. Boden Reeve doubled and was replaced by pinch runner Sam Mehlberg. Aidan Mehlberg and Cooley grounded out and singled, but their sacrifice advanced Sam Mehlberg over home plate. Nishikawa doubled, moving Cooley to third. Johnson singled to bring in Cooley and tie the game. O’Cain grounded out for the Kang’s second out but scored Nishikawa in the process. The Kangs now had the lead, 6-5.
Next, Schuster’s single plated Johnson for another run. With Schuster advancing to second on a wild pitch, Malachi Toungate walked, followed by another walk to Kwon, loading the bases. Reeve then smashed a triple, scoring three more. After a walk for Aidan Mehlberg, Cooley popped out, but the damage was done. Lake Washington had tallied 7 runs in the inning, taking a commanding 10-5 lead.
Eastlake tried to respond. Koong flew out for a quick first out. Miller walked to first, and Beam followed with another walk, advancing Miller to second. A wild pitch allowed both Miller and Beam to move up to second and third. However, Haroldsen popped out and Matsuoka grounded out, stranding the runners.
Lake Washington kept the pressure in the fourth. After a pop out by Nishikawa and a single from Johnson, who was picked off, O’Cain was hit by a pitch and replaced by pinch runner Brady Carlson. Schuster walked and Carlson advanced to second. Toungate followed with another walk to load the bases. Kwon was hit by a pitch, scoring Carlson for a stinging 11-5 Kang lead. The inning ended on a pop out by Reeve.
Eastlake needed to make some headway but wound up frustrated by the Lake Washington defense by the end of the fourth inning. Wood lined out, Montano doubled but was stranded after a groundout by O’Donnell and a strikeout from Kohlmann.
The Kangs sealed the deal in the fifth. Aidan Mehlberg struck out, but Cooley walked and was replaced by pinch runner Owen Price. Nishikawa flew out for Lake Washington’s second out. Johnson was hit by a pitch putting runners on first and second. Carlson came through with a triple, scoring both Price and Johnson for two RBIs and a score of 13-5.
A double from Schuster scored Carlson from third. A wild pitch moved Schuster up and Hartnett walked. Kwon drove in Schuster with a single, making it 15-5.
Eastlake had to get something if they wanted to play more than five innings. If they did not score here, the ten-run rule would apply and end the game early. Unfortunately, the Wolves fell short when Koong struck out, Miller lined out, and Marcus Frantela struck out to end the game early with only five innings and a 15-5 Kang victory for the state title.
In the end, the Lake Washington Kangaroos claimed the State Championship title, taking first place in the division with a 22-11 overall record for the 2025 baseball season.
The Eastlake Wolves took second place in the state with an overall season record of 25-10.
