Soph Hurls Issaquah To State -- Juanita Stays Alive; Woodinville Out

BELLEVUE - Ryan Iraola took one look at the Issaquah High varsity baseball team this season and decided to get comfortable pitching for the program's junior varsity.

"I was like, `Geez, how am I ever going to be able to play with these guys?' " the sophomore said. "They were all so far ahead of me."

Yesterday, Iraola was ahead of everybody wearing Woodinville green.

The left-hander who spent most of the season at JV threw almost nothing but strikes to lead seventh-ranked Issaquah to a 3-0 victory over Woodinville in a winner-to-state KingCo Conference baseball tournament game.

"It's amazing," Iraola said. "It feels super. I started the year on JV and I just thought I'd stay the whole year on JV."

The four-hitter in the second game of a tournament tripleheader at Bannerwood Park boosted Iraola's pitching record to 4-0. Juanita beat Lake Washington 3-0 in yesterday's opener and came back to beat Woodinville 3-2 in eight innings in the finale.

Lindsay Gulin, the ace of the Issaquah pitching staff, provided most of the offense for Issaquah (16-5) with a two-run triple.

Gulin, whose earned-run average is under 0.15 this season, is expected to start for Issaquah in its Class AAA Region III opener against South Puget Sound League champion Curtis next Saturday at Tacoma's Heidelberg Park.

OTHER GAMES

Juanita 3, Woodinville 2, 8 innings (loser out) - The Rebels (15-9) scored two unearned runs in the seventh, then got three walks and an infield hit in the eighth to win it.

The victory - Juanita's third loser-out win and fourth game in two days - earned the Rebels a 5:30 p.m. Tuesday matchup with Everett in a winner-to-state, loser-out game at Everett Memorial Stadium. Tuesday's winner will advance to the Region III Tournament next Saturday against the Greater St. Helens League champion.

Juanita, which beat Lake Washington 3-0 in a loser-out game yesterday morning, needed seventh-inning help to win for the second straight day. The Rebels beat Bothell 6-5 Friday by scoring the winning run with the help of an error.

Juanita got five innings of gutsy relief pitching from senior Andy Cannon, who didn't allow a run nor a runner past first base, to earn his first pitching decision.

Woodinville, which lost to Issaquah 3-0 immediately before the Juanita game, played its third extra-inning game of the tournament. Despite a team earned-run average of 0.85 (four earned runs in 33 innings) in the tourney, the Falcons (14-11) scored only seven runs in four games, going 2-2 in the tournament - and going home.

Marques Tuiasosopo, Woodinville's No. 4 pitcher, pitched six shutout innings before Juanita rallied in the seventh.

Juanita 3, Lake Washington 0 (loser out) - Junior Ryan Penhallegan pitched a one-hitter to lead the Rebels in yesterday's tripleheader opener.

Penhallegan gave up a two-out triple to Jeremy Deshazer of Lake Washington (13-11) in the first, but didn't allow another hit. He struck out six and walked seven.

Jamie Arnold's bases-loaded, one-out single in the top of the first drove home Sundar Cook and Kip Madsen for a 2-0 Juanita lead.