Redmond got a fantastic pitching performance and just enough offense in the nick of time as the Mustangs edged Issaquah, 3-1, Tuesday night to clinch the 4A Kingco Crest Division title and earn the No. 1 seed to the upcoming Kingco Tournament.

In a dramatic showdown between the division’s top two clubs, Redmond starter Zach Abbruzza pitched a complete-game gem, allowing just three hits and one run against one of the league’s most potent offenses, while striking out eight as the Mustangs spoiled Issaquah’s Senior Night festivities.

“Wow, he was good today,” lauded Redmond head coach Dan Pudwill. “That was fun to watch, he had four pitches going and was locating them all. He kept guys off balance, and they’re a real good hitting ball club. It’s not easy to limit them to three hits.”

The Mustangs will play the winner of tonight’s Woodinville/Lake Washington game in its Kingco Tournament opener at Woodinville High School on Saturday at 7 p.m.

A DUEL ON THE DIAMOND

With both clubs sending their staff aces to the mound, resulting in a string of zeroes across the scoreboard through four innings, it appeared as though the team that would break through first might win.

Redmond did just that in the top of the fifth, finally getting to Eagles’ starter Shane Yarnell, who had a 7-0 record heading into Tuesday night.

Speedy leadoff hitter Josh Bircher legged out an infield single, advanced to third on a single to right by Abbruzza, and then scored on a deep sacrifice fly to left by No. 5 hitter T.J. Whidby.

The Eagles countered with a run of their own in the sixth, setting up the critical seventh.

In the top of the seventh, Bircher battled in a seven-pitch at-bat, ending in a sharply-hit line drive that Issaquah shortstop Grant Gellatly snared for an out.

One play later, Gellatly bobbled a grounder by Abbruzza, who reached first base and would eventually represent the Mustangs’ winning run.

After the error, Redmond’s middle of the order – Dylan Davis, Whidby and sophomore Patrick McGrath – notched consecutive hits to plate two runs and give the Mustangs a 3-1 cushion, which was more than Abbruzza needed in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

“That hurts, but we’ve got to get ourselves out of that, though,” said Issaquah coach Rob Reese on the crucial error. “Pitchers have got to pick up the shortstop when that happens sometimes because they make plays to save them, too.”

A factor contributing to the win may have been the Mustangs’ patience at the plate, as they forced Yarnell to throw strikes early in the ball game and worked a lot of deep counts.

Through four innings of the pitcher’s duel, Yarnell had thrown 67 pitches, and Abbruzza just 42.

“We talked about having a good approach, we knew he was a strike thrower and wasn’t going to walk us,” noted Pudwill on his team’s mindset in the batter’s box. “We had to attack pitches that we could attack and we did a real good job of that. We scattered our hits out, but we finally got to him.”

Abbruzza’s low pitch count was attributed to his amazing command, seemingly firing a first-pitch strike to nearly every Eagles batter.

“I just wanted to come in and throw strikes, all year long that’s what I’ve done,” said Abbruzza, a junior who improved to 5-1 on the mound. “(Issaquah) is a real tough squad, but I felt that if we played our game, we could beat them. It was a real good team effort, we knew we had to be good on all levels, and we did that today.”

Mustang center fielder Matt Kimmel had a huge game, going 3-for-4 and also making a diving catch in shallow center field, robbing Issaquah’s Ben Rosellini and saving a potential run from scoring.

Whidby, Abbruzza and Davis all had two hits, with Davis batting a torrid .833 (5-for 6) against Issaquah pitching this year.

THE NEW SEASON

The events of last year are still fresh in the minds of the Mustangs, who were eliminated from the postseason by the Eagles in the third round of the 2009 4A Kingco Tournament after an incredible 17-3 regular season.

“We learned last year that the No. 1 seed doesn’t mean anything,” Pudwill said. “We’re looking at it as our next season, and we’re going to approach it as such. We’re the same as anybody else in that tournament, and as long as we can play as well as we did today, we’ll be all right.”

The Mustangs finished the regular season with a 12-4 division record, tied with the Eagles, but Redmond earned the No. 1 seed because it beat Issaquah twice in the regular season. Redmond enters the playoffs with a 15-5 overall record and have won seven of their last eight contests.

“We feel confident,” said Abbruzza on his team’s readiness for a postseason run. “Last year we learned that the regular season is only the start, but we feel real confident and we’re playing our best baseball right now.”

To view and/or purchase action pictures from the Mustangs’ division championship game, please visit photographer Matt Campbell’s Web site a http://www.sportspixs.com