Rebels Win Title On 2-Hitter -- Doughty Sharp In 8-1 Win Over Ferris

TACOMA - Brian Doughty didn't waste any time pitching the Juanita Rebels to an 8-1 victory over Spokane's Ferris and record third Class AAA state high-school baseball championship.

He'd waited long enough.

"This is what we've been working for for three years," the 6-foot-4 senior said.

Doughty worked a little less than two hours last night at Cheney Stadium and threw only 79 AAA pitches in a two-hitter as Juanita (22-2) won its 19th straight game.

The right-hander struck out three and got 15 ground-ball outs. He threw only 24 pitches through four innings and faced the minimum number of batters through 4 2/3.

"He was throwing strikes and we had to go after them," Ferris Coach John Thacker said.

Doughty, who has a baseball scholarship to Washington State University, threw only 50 pitches through six innings - 36 for strikes.

"Brian really had control of the ballgame, no question," Juanita Coach Gary Groenen said. "And his defense played excellent behind him."

Juanita didn't commit an error. Shortstop Casey Dill and second baseman Arlo Abbott combined for nine assists and didn't allow a ball to get through the middle. First baseman Tom Evans turned in a defensive gem, starting a 3-6-3 double play to end the first.

"In innings one through seven, we never could catch up to him," Ferris Coach John Thacker said of Doughty. "When we did, we hit it right at somebody. And they played great defense."

They also played great offense. Every Juanita batter reached base in the game, all but two with hits.

"This is the most complete team I think I've had," said Groenen, who completed his 20th year at Juanita with his fourth state-final appearance and best record in a season.

"You tell me where a weak link is," Groenen said. "I don't see any."

Juanita outscored opponents 211-61 this season.

Even the Rebels' No. 9 hitter, Scott Hardy, drilled a two-run triple to the wall in right-center in Juanita's four-run fourth last night.

"When you get a group like this, it's easy to coach," Groenen said. "I'm going to miss a lot of these guys."

Leadoff hitter Craig Holmes, a senior, was 2 for 4. Abbott drove in two runs in the sixth with a two-out single. Doughty was 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI in the sixth.

Six of Juanita's starting nine players yesterday will graduate this spring, including the No. 1 through 4 hitters in the order.

That experience coming back from last year's state-tournament team was one reason USA Today and Baseball America picked Juanita among its national top-25 in preseason rankings - and a big reason the Rebels were a preseason favorite to win the state championship.

"There was a lot of pressure on us," Doughty said. "A lot of people expected us to be here. And we expected to be here. In fact, anything short of this would not have been satisfying."

The Rebels were 11th in last week's USA Today ranking.

"I don't think they ever really felt pressured," Groenen said. "They had the goal in mind and they worked hard toward it."

Juanita's only two losses came in the first two weeks of the season. They lost to Cascade 5-1 in the season opener before Evans, Doughty, Pat Russell and Grant Hartvigson had returned from the state basketball tournament.

The Rebels lost once in KingCo Conference play, 8-3 to 1991 state champion Redmond in the second league game of the season.

Groenen's third state title ties him with Newport's Bob Albo, now athletic director at the Bellevue school, for most by an AAA coach. Juanita's three titles tie for tops among AAA and AA schools. Only Ephrata in Class A (seven) has won more state baseball championships.

Ferris (19-6) was the sixth team from the Greater Spokane League to qualify for the state final - and the sixth to head home with the second-place trophy. GSL teams have been outscored 34-7 in state-final games.

The 1992 Juanita team became the eighth KingCo Conference team to win a state championship in the 20 years of the tournament.

Including Redmond's title last season, KingCo teams have won five of the past eight titles.

-- Lake Washington 9, Columbia River 0 - It was less an end to a great season than a beginning to a better one for Mike Agostino.

The Lake Washington High junior pitched a two-hitter, struck out four and didn't walk a batter until there were two out in the seventh inning against Columbia River. The result was a 9-0 Kangaroo victory in the consolation final for third and fourth place.

Agostino (9-2) lowered his earned-run average to near 1.00, and Lake Washington (19-8) equaled its highest state-tournament finish in the Kirkland school's history.

The Kangaroos finished third in their six-team Crown Division of the KingCo Conference to earn the division's final playoff berth. A poll of division coaches predicted them to finish fourth in the Crown.

"I didn't expect this at the beginning of the season," LW Coach Dave Chambers said. "We certainly performed overall a lot better than expected, but I knew we had a good team."

"That's what the shock was," said senior catcher Brendan Hare, who led KingCo in hitting at .491. "I don't think anybody knew we would come this far.

"At the beginning of the season, I looked at our team, and I saw our weaknesses. I didn't see too many strengths," Hare said.

Against Columbia River, every Lake Washington starter had at least one hit and all had reached base by the end of the third inning.