Talk about having a day.
Kent’s Matthew Franceschina had an entire week rolled into two hours Sunday afternoon.
Franceschina blasted three home runs and drove in six, leading Kent’s 9-10 All-Stars past Pac West of Burien 10-0 in an opening round game of the state tournament at Shoreview Park in Shoreline.
“I don’t know if I have ever seen that,” said Kent coach Steve Wright. “I’ve seen kids hit two (home runs in a game), but three … that’s pretty rare.”
The Kent bats were alive and well in the win. While Franceschina walked away with the biggest performance, belting two homers to left and another to center, he was joined in the hit parade by teammates Kyle Combs (2-3, double, 1 run scored), Jordon Wright (2-3, 2 runs scored), Jacob Booth (2-2), Shane Nagel (2-3, 2 runs scored), and Ryan An (2-2, 2 RBIs). Wright and Combs combined on the mound for the shutout. Wright worked the first two scoreless innings, striking out three and walking none en route to picking up the win. Combs added two more scoreless innings of work, striking out four and allowing just one hit.
The win helped Kent start the state tournament on the right foot. The local Stars continued to win on Tuesday night, drilling Centralia 9-2. Cade Harris led the offense, going 3-for-4 with three doubles and four RBIs. Shane Nagel picked up the win on the mound with four solid innings of work.
“The game was really about defense,” Wright said. “(Centralia) really put the ball in play, and our defense was really, really good.”
The two wins moved Kent into the semifinal round, where it played Bellevue East at 6 p.m. on Thursday (results were unavailable at press time).
• ALSO: The Kent/Auburn 10-11 fastpitch All-Stars opened with a bang on Saturday, knocking off Battle Ground 10-0 in the opening round of the state tournament. Jordan Engman, Lisa Kamaunu and Payton Kalka combined on the complete-game shutout. The local Stars took a quick first-inning lead thanks to RBI singles in the first inning from Kalka and Engman. Kent/Auburn put the game away with a five-run third inning. Kent/Auburn followed the first-round win with a 5-1 loss to Woondinville, and then was eliminated from the state tournament by Sequim, 8-7. … Kent’s 10-11 Little League All-Star team won one game, and lost two at its respective state tournament in Selah. Bainbridge Island dealt Kent a tough first-round blow, knocking off the local Stars 4-3. Kent, however, bounced back with a 10-6 victory over Greater Richland before being eliminated by Chehalis, 4-0.
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