They know the season rides on their shoulders.
As always, Kentlake High’s interchangeable pitching aces Zach Wright and Doug Christie remain unflappable, calm as ever with the road that lies ahead. The Falcon flamethrowers don’t have time these days for panic. Never have. Never will.
All Wright and Christie have time for is getting the Falcons back to where they felt they should have been at the end of last year – on top.
After advancing to the Class 4A championship game in 2008 and returning nearly its entire roster, Kentlake looked on paper last year to be a near lock for another high finish at state. Instead, the Falcons faltered, finishing third in league with a 10-6 record and missing state by a pair of victories.
This spring, it’s all about duplicating 2008 – or even going one step further. And the big key to making that happen remains the right arms of Wright and Christie, who have been two of the league’s most dominant pitchers the last two years.
“We have a young team, so hopefully me and Doug can pick up a little slack and help us return to the playoffs,” said the mild-mannered Wright, who has received interest from a variety of major league teams. “We’re trying to get back to the playoffs. After that, we’ll see where it goes.”
Pressure?
Neither Wright nor Christie – both of whom will be playing next spring at the University of Washington – feel much, if any.
“I don’t feel any pressure,” admitted Christie, who’s routinely clocked in the high 80s. “I feel we’re going to go out and there and do what we need to.”
Both did just that a year ago. Wright allowed a league-low 3.99 hits per game while Christie ranked third in the SPSL North in strikeouts, collecting 40 in 34 innings pitched.
Having two top-tier aces to rely upon is a luxury most high school teams don’t possess, Kentlake coach Jason Evans said.
“They’re throwing (bullpen sessions) all year long,” Evans noted. “The first game of the year, I know either one of them will be able to go all seven (innings).”
Yet, the Falcons still need to find a way to fill the holes left by graduation. Kentlake graduated a league-high 11 seniors, including all-leaguers Brandon Cinkovich (third base), Bobby Joe Tannehill (shortstop), Danny Janocha (outfield) and Miles Nagel (DH/first base).
The group was expected to lead the Falcons back to the state tournament a year ago, but simply never got into a consistent rhythm.
“It was one of those things where you look at us on paper (last year) and it looked like we should breeze through to the state tournament,” Evans said. “Sometimes I feel like they thought it was going to be handed to them. They just took it a little too lightly. It really shocked them.”
Shock aside, the Falcons believe they have enough in reserve this spring to make another run at a state berth. Not only because of the return of their two aces, but also because Kentlake also received an offseason gift in the form of pitcher Ryne Shelton, a transfer who helped Timberline finish fourth at the Class 3A state tournament a year ago. All Shelton did to open the season on Monday night was strike out eight batters in four scoreless innings of work in an 11-0 win over Cascade Christian. For good measure, he added three hits and four RBIs. Throw in 6-foot-5 junior pitcher Sean Hartnett to an already loaded staff, and there’s reason for the Falcons to be optimistic.
“We have four guys hitting over 90 (on the radar gun),” Evans said. “But we still have to put runs on the board.”
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