The big hits just kept coming for the Kent Little League Major All-Stars during the opening two rounds of the District 10 tournament Saturday and Sunday at GSA Park in Auburn.
The Kent stars racked up 29 hits and eight home runs in a pair of victories, the first a 10-0 thrashing of Fife-Milton on Saturday and the second an 11-4 thumping of Soundview on Sunday.
“We do have some good hitters,” said coach Scott McGuire. “The bottom of the lineup hits pretty well. Really, I could flip my order over.”
The two wins lift Kent into the semifinal round of the tournament. Kent will face off against Steel Lake of Federal Way in the District 10 semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at GSA Park. With a win, Kent can advance to the championship game, which is slated for Friday night. Kent won the tournament a year ago.
“Steel Lake is going to be very tough,” McGuire said.
The winner of the eight-team tournament advances to state, which will be held in Fort Vancouver on July 23-24.
Virtually everyone on the roster got into the act at some point during the weekend.
In Saturday’s shutout of Fife-Milton, Ben Wadowski led the offensive assault, going 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and a single. Christian Palaita, Bennett Harrison and Jaylen Eichler also homered for Kent. In addition to connecting for a home run, Eichler also picked up the win on the mound, working four no-hit innings and striking out five. Eichler walked just one and hit a batter.
The beat continued for Kent Sunday morning with its win over Soundview. This time, it was Shane McGuire’s turn to deliver the thunder. McGuire went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. He also worked three innings on the mound to earn the victory.
McGuire was aided on the mound by Wadowski, who struck out seven of eight batters, and Jake Anderson, who closed out the win. Palaita chipped in a pair of hits, including his second home run in as many games, while Travis Hansen went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles.
Kent trailed 4-2 in the third inning when Palaita tied the game with a two-run homer to left-center.
“It was a shot,” McGuire said. “It went into the road.”
Moments later, Cody Faulkner singled home Noah Holmes and Harrison, giving Kent a 6-4 lead, an advantage the team would not relinquish.
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