The Kentwood High baseball team didn’t wait Saturday afternoon to clinch a state berth.
Behind home runs by Zach Corpuz and Avery Kain along with a steady performance on the mound by ace Austin Voth, Kentwood knocked off Olympia 7-3 at Heritage Park in Puyallup to claim its sixth Class 4A state berth in seven years.
Had the Conquerors lost to Olympia, they would have faced an elimination game later in the day.
“It was relieving to get (the state berth),” said Kentwood outfielder Zach Corpuz. “We wanted to avoid that (late game) at all costs.”
Kentwood opens the state tournament at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Skyline at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The Conquerors were eliminated from state in the opening round last spring. It’s something Kentwood is using as motivation this time around.
“Last year left a sour taste in our mouths,” said Corpuz, who went 2-for-3 on Saturday with a pivotal 3-run homer in the third inning. “We’re coming in (to state) with a chip on our shoulders.”
Of course, the chip appeared to be there Saturday as well. Kentwood opened the season on a 15-game winning streak, but headed into play at Heritage Park having dropped three of four, including last week’s SPSL championship game against Puyallup.
Olympia jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Kentwood, however, quickly responded, plating three runs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by a 2-run homer from Kain.
“It was a line drive and got out in a hurry. It was a no-doubter,” said Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad. “After being behind after the first inning the last few games, it was nice to switch things around.”
The Conquerors didn’t stop there, adding three more runs in the third inning to take a 6-1 advantage. Corpuz keyed the rally with a 3-run blast to left field. It was Corpuz’s third home run of the season.
The home run couldn’t have come at a better time, Corpuz noted.
“I’ve been struggling lately, kind of just waiting for the ball and waiting for the right pitch,” he said. “It came and I swung. I didn’t think it was going to go all the way and figured I’d just pull up into second base with a double. When I hit it, it just didn’t sound good.”
It did, however, look good, especially on the scoreboard as it gave the Conquerors a 6-1 lead.
The five-run advantage was more than enough for Voth, who went the distance on the mound to pick up the victory. Instead of celebrating the state berth, however, the Conquerors were all business on Saturday.
Advancing to the state’s biggest stage was expected by this bunch, Aarstad said.
“Absolutely. We expected to be here, right where we’re at,” he said. “Now that’s one goal down, but we have a couple more to go.”
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