In high school baseball, it is all about getting your team to peak in the postseason, and no team knows that better than the second-ranked Redmond Mustangs as they prepare to take on Gig Harbor this Saturday at 10 a.m. at Memorial Stadium in Kent in the opening round of the 4A state tournament.
Last season, the Mustangs reeled off an impressive 17-3 regular season record, only to bomb out of the 4A Kingco playoffs with errant pitching and fielding.
The 2010 version of Redmond’s squad, however, has been nothing but dominant in the postseason.
The Mustangs (18-5), winners of six straight, have outscored their playoff opponents, 19-5, including launching four home runs and playing nearly error-free defense.
At the forefront of the Mustangs’ offensive explosion have been the dynamic duo of Dylan Davis and Michael Conforto, who have hit 11, and nine, home runs respectively this year. Just like last year, a number of times the pair, batting third and fourth in the lineup, went back-to-back or hit their four-baggers in the same game to ignite a Mustang rally.
“We definitely push each other,” said Conforto, adding that he has played baseball with Davis since they were 10 years old. “If (Dylan) hits one out I always feel that pressure. We’re just competitive with each other, and that’s not a bad thing at all.”
SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
Redmond head coach Dan Pudwill has always placed importance on pitching and defense, but knowing the caliber of bats in his lineup this year, he said it’s been difficult not to take his offense for granted.
“I don’t think our plate approach has changed much, I still preach the same thing in selectivity and getting good pitches to hit,” he explained. “It just so happens that sometimes when they swing the bat, the ball goes over the fence. You kind of start to expect that, and it can be a problem when you start thinking, ‘Gosh, we need a home run here.’”
The players were also quick to acknowledge that their success has been a total team effort this year.
“The whole team’s been doing what they have to do in the right situations,” Davis said. “Everybody’s coming up big right now.”
Added pitcher Zach Abbruzza, the team leader in ERA (1.11) and record (6-1), “Our defense has been really good.”
And it’s not just hearsay, as the Mustangs have eight players on the roster batting over .300 for the season, led by Davis’ torrid .466 batting average. Second baseman Josh Bircher, nicknamed “Hoover,” has not committed a fielding mistake all season, and neither has center fielder Matt Kimmel. Abbruzza, who normally plays first base, has a stellar fielding percentage of .990.
“We catch the ball real well. Defensively, we’ve been really, really good at making plays,” Pudwill noted. “Bircher has played every inning of every game and did not make a single error all season. Up the middle our defense is really strong with Michael (Conforto) and Matt Kimmel in center field.”
A PAIR OF ACES
The key ingredient of this postseason’s success, according to Pudwill, has been his team’s starting pitching led by Abbruzza as well as Davis, who has a 4-1 record on the mound.
While being used mainly as a reliever last season, Abbruzza has come into his own, mowing down the league’s toughest lineups and displaying pinpoint control.
“This year he’s been flat-out dominant,” Pudwill said of his ace. “He hasn’t given up more than two runs in a single start all year.”
Save one bad outing against Skyline and a tough opening-day loss to Newport, Davis has been just as dominant, leading the team with 57 strikeouts. And in a pinch or if the team needs to utilize a third starter, Ryan Beliel has been more than capable of taking the mound.
“He is really good as well, but since he’s behind two guys that are really, really good, he hasn’t had the chance to pitch as much,” Pudwill said of Beliel. “He has been really effective for us, like in the first game of the playoffs (9-2 win over Lake Washington) when Dylan’s arm was a bit sore.”
When you combine the Mustangs’ starting pitching with their offensive potential, it’s easy to see how the Mustangs have gotten to the point they are, four wins away from a coveted state title.
“When you couple those things together, that’s been the difference,” Pudwill said. “The ability to get that big hit to separate us.”
SAFE CRACKERS
It’s every baseball player’s dream to step into the batter’s box or onto the green grass of Safeco Field, and at the beginning of the year Pudwill admitted that was his team’s long-term goal, with the hope of “dogpiling on the mound” at the end.
But first, they will have to head south to take on a tough Gig Harbor team with outstanding starting pitching, led by unflappable junior Michael McCall.
Getting ready for practice earlier this week, the Mustangs went about their business with a determined confidence, knowing that they will need to fire on all cylinders to survive Saturday’s action.
“We feel confident, and it’s going to be fun,” Abbruzza said. “We’re definitely playing our best baseball right now, and we have to just keep having good at-bats and play defense.
Added Davis, “And not looking past anybody like we did last year in the Kingco playoffs. We have to take it one game at a time.”
