Byeman’s ninth inning homer gives Eastlake thrilling victory over Woodinville

On the very first pitch of the ninth inning, Ben Byeman ripped a shot over the right field fence, hitting a clutch walk-off homerun to give the Eastlake Wolves a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Woodinville Falcons on Friday afternoon.

The homerun concluded an intense back and forth game that saw Eastlake give up their lead late before tying the score to send it into extra innings. 

Although Byeman struck out twice in the game, he had a strong outing, getting two hits on four at bats. He was able to drive in a run in the first inning through a triple and another one when he sealed the game with his homerun. 

Eastlake got out to a hot start in the first inning, tacking on three runs through a two-run double from Marcus Frantella and a triple from Brock Sampson.

While Eastlake’s offensive momentum would die out as the game went on, Woodinville was able to continually chip at their lead. A steal from Parker Cole in the third, an RBI groundout from Braden Perry and a single from him later on would give Woodinville a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. However, Eastlake was able to draw a walk with the bases loaded, tying it up and sending it into extra innings.

In the eighth inning, not much offensive action took place. Both Connor Maynard and Cole shut their opposing offenses down, as Maynard retired the first three batters he faced, while Cole prevented Eastlake from getting a baserunner across the plate. 

Maynard continued to keep the Woodinville offense inactive in the ninth, throwing another quick inning. This gave Eastlake the chance to win it all, and Byeman delivered.