Hazen Helps Itself To First Place In League Standings

RENTON - First, Hazen High School got some help. Then, the Highlanders helped themselves.

After starting the week 2 1/2 games behind first-place Liberty of Issaquah, Hazen vaulted into the Seamount League baseball lead yesterday with a 10-3 victory over the reeling Patriots at Hazen. It was the third loss in three days for Liberty, which went into the week with a 14-1 record and No. 2 ranking in the Class AA state poll.

The Patriots (12-4 in Seamount play) dropped to a half-game behind Hazen (12-3). After today's final round of regularly scheduled games, Liberty has one rain-makeup to play, Tuesday against Highline, and Hazen has two, Tuesday against Lindbergh and Wednesday against Highline.

``Quite honestly, four days ago we were playing for second place,'' Hazen Coach John O'Brien said. ``We got some help and we came through. . . . Now it's all a mental game. We just can't get beat. We're on top. We have to play like winners.''

Liberty, which had won eight in a row since an early loss, was stunned in successive days by Tyee and Mount Rainier, teams in the bottom third of the league. Walks and errors were big culprits, as they were yesterday.

The spin coincides with the suspension of Liberty ace Randy Fjeld (6-1). Fjeld was suspended from school for disciplinary reasons, according to Coach Barry Aden. His absence hurt the team defensively as well as from a pitching standpoint, Aden said.

``The kids don't have any problems when Randy's pitching,'' he said. Fjeld was expected to pitch today's game against third-place Lindbergh.

Jeff Martin was the star yesterday, though he had a rugged first inning. With one out, he gave up line-drive singles to right by Mark Pillo and Glen Walker. Catcher Steve White hit the first pitch he saw over the center-field fence to give the Pats a quick 3-0 lead.

Martin didn't offer any excuses. White is considered one of the top high-school prospects in the Northwest, and he has humbled many pitchers.

``I respect him more than anybody in the state,'' said Martin, who lost 9-6 when the two teams first met, giving up a pair of home runs. ``He's a great hitter. I just didn't bend my knee enough and got a slider up high.''

He admitted his confidence was shaken, but only for the moment.

``Before the game, I felt relaxed,'' Martin said. ``That (home run) kind of broke me. I thought, `Maybe these guys really are the ballclub everyone says they are.' It shook me, but not as much as it did last game.''

With two out in the same inning, Martin gave up an infield single to Robert Portello, Liberty's fourth hit of the game.

But he didn't allow another one the rest of the way, fanning 10 against only two walks to raise his record to 7-2.

``Give him loads of credit,'' O'Brien said.

Liberty had a chance to do more damage in the top of the second as the first two batters reached on errors and sat at second and third with none out. Martin got the next batter to hit back to him, then added a strikeout and groundout to end the threat.

Hazen picked up one run in the second inning on Ryan Nash's RBI double and pulled even in the third as Jason McIntosh smacked a two-run homer to center. It might have been a bigger inning, but an umpiring call - or non-call - slammed the door. With runners on first and second and one out, Brian White hit a towering popup in front of the mound. Four Liberty players converged, but no one called for the ball and pitcher Alan Perfect wound up having it tip off his glove.

Neither umpire called the infield fly rule into effect, and the two baserunners were dead ducks.

The Highlanders took command with seven runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of four hits, four walks and two errors.