Davis’ two-hit gem, home run lifts Redmond while Bothell’s Hudson struggles
The red-hot Bothell Cougars had to be feeling good heading into last Wednesday’s game at Hartman Park in Redmond against the Mustangs, but left in defeat as the Mustangs (7-2, 10-3) came out victorious 4-1.
Bothell had won six straight league games and Mustang staff ace Mac Acker had the night off, but little did they know that Redmond had another deadly weapon in its young arsenal.
Sophomore Dylan Davis pitched a gem of a game, silencing the Cougars’ offense to just two hits over seven innings and also helped his own cause with a two-run home run to left field in the third inning off of Bothell starter Evan Hudson.
“Absolutely unbelievable,” said Redmond head coach Dan Pudwill when asked to describe Davis’ effort. “He knew it was a big game, and he knew we were playing a really good team in Bothell. He just stepped up, he was pretty much in complete control.”
STOPPING THE BLUE TRAIN
Compounding the Cougars’ difficulties was that Hudson had trouble staying in the strike zone, something the patient Mustangs took advantage of.
Bothell’s junior starter threw 25 pitches in the second inning, and then 26 more in the third, when he gave up three runs on three hits.
“Evan was erratic, he wasn’t solid in terms of being in the strike zone,” said longtime Bothell head coach Paul Moody. “He has got to be more consistent.”
On the offensive end, the Mustangs were prepared for the Cougars to be swinging away early in the count, which played right into Davis’ strategy to tame a potent Cougar lineup.
“My game plan was just to go out there and see if they can hit it,” said Davis, who pitched a complete game. “They’re real aggressive, so I thought, ‘Why go up there and waste pitches?’”
Davis, using excellent location on his fastball and getting Bothell’s best bats out in front with his offspeed pitches, gave up just two hits in seven innings, a first-inning double by center fielder Gene Watson and a fourth-inning single by cleanup hitter Tyler Atkinson, with the Cougars’ only run being unearned.
The young righthander kept the ball down like a cagey veteran, inducing 16 ground ball outs, to go along with five strikeouts. Taking advantage of Bothell’s impatience at the plate, Davis threw just nine, four, and seven pitches in the second, third and fourth innings, respectively, leaving plenty in the tank for him to finish strong.
“It’s a game of pitching,” Moody said. “They pitched better than us tonight, and we have to learn to hit better on that kind of pitching too.”
A Missed opportunity
The Cougars had a chance to rally in the sixth, when Davis ran into trouble with two walks and a passed ball putting runners at second and third with just one out.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, third baseman Alex Reynolds hit a line drive to shortstop Brian Grina, who flipped the ball over to Michael Marriott covering second base for the double play.
The loss dropped the Cougars to 7-2 in league play and 10-3 overall, which left Bothell in a tie for first place in the Crown Division with Lake Washington (7-2, 9-2).
“I don’t think so,” said Moody when asked if the loss will set his club back at all. “These are kids that just want to play hard, and play well. We faced a pretty good pitcher tonight. I thought he did a nice job throwing strikes, and we were outmatched a little bit tonight.”
