Game Summary

Game 1: Lake Stevens 14 Lewis and Clark 2

Lake Stevens took Game 1 of the Junior A State tournament led by a complete game performance by Denium Reynolds. Reynolds gave up just 2 runs on 5 hits in his 7 innings of work. The middle of the order for Lake Stevens was unstoppable. Danny Esquivel, Duke Dolphin, and Matt Sweeney all had 3 hit days. Esquivel had a 2 run triple while both Sweeney and Dolphin had RBI doubles. Brandon Fiske had a 4 hit game while Kyle Kaintz was 2 for 4 with an RBI. First Baseman Gunnar Eklund capped off a nice 2 hit game with a double to the left center gap.

Game 2: Lake Stevens 13 Central Valley 3

Gunnar Eklund led Lake to the next round by throwing 7 strong innings, giving up just 3 runs in addition to hitting a double. Central Valley’s struggles were attributed to a 5 for 5 day by Keanu Puha who had a triple and a double. Triples were a common hit in this game as Matt Sweeney, Danny Esquivel, and Alex Bowman all were credited with one. Eklund and Brandon Fiske both had 2 hit games as well for the Vikings.

Game 3: Lake Stevens 7 University 4

Keanu Puha did it again in this win for the Vikings. Not just at the plate, where he was 2 for 4 with yet another triple, but he threw a solid seven innings to clinch a birth to the state championship. Brandon Fiske and Duke Dolphin both had 2 hits in the game while Matt Sweeney was 3 for 4 with a double.

Game 4: Lake Stevens 8 Franklin Pierce 11

Lake Stevens Lost a heart breaker in game 4 of the state tournament. Franklin Pierce scored 11 runs however only 1 run was earned. Kevin Lanto started the game and was strong in the 2 innings he worked striking out 4 but defense was a problem as Lake Stevens committed 7 errors. Lake Stevens was down but never out. They were losing 10 to 4 after the 3^rd inning. Lake Stevens mounted a comeback behind a strong relief performance by Justin Bell who threw 4 innings striking out 4 batters and giving up just 1 run in relief. The bats were still strong as Keanu Puha had 3 triples. Denium Reynolds had a triple as well as Duke Dolphin who had 3 hits. Matt Sweeney and Brandon Fiske both went 2 for 4 for the Vikings although their effort fell short they still had already clinched a birth to the championship.

Championship Game 5: Lake Stevens 8 Franklin Pierce 5

Lake Stevens had a chance for redemption against Franklin Pierce. Through 2 innings it was a pitchers duel for Lake Steven’s pitcher Kyle Kaintz. The Game was tied at 0.  In the 3^rd Franklin Pierce scored 2 runs off a 2 out Lake Steven’s error. In the bottom half of the inning Lake Stevens got the offense going with its first hit by Gunnar Eklund. Alex Bowman hit a single and Danny Esquivel walked to load the bases with 2 outs. Brandon Fiske had a two out hit that cleared the bases to give the Vikings the lead. Franklin Pierce came back to tie the game in the 4^th. With two outs and the bases loaded Denium Reynolds came in to relieve a great performance by Kyle Kaintz. Reynolds struck out the batter for the third out and the threat was done. Lake Stevens added 2 on the board in the 4^th by an RBI single by Alex Bowman and a squeeze play which was executed perfectly by Justin Bell. In the bottom of the 5^th Lake Stevens had a 6 to 3 lead and the first 3 runners reached base via a walk by Esquivel and two straight singles by Fiske and Dolphin. After an infield fly, Gunnar Eklund came up with the bases loaded and 1 out. Franklin Pierces pitcher was going from the Windup and to avoid a double play Brandon Fiske went for a steal of home. It was a low fastball and Fiske was safe. The next Pitch Eklund added another insurance run on an RBI groundball to give Lake an 8 to 3 advantage. The Lead was kept by Reynolds who went on to record his second victory of the tournament as Lake Stevens defeated Franklin Pierce for the 2008 Junior A Legion State Championship.