Prep Baseball / Wesco AAA South Division -- Garmire Stays Focused On Goal -- Lefty Shoulders Load For Shorecrest

SHORELINE - Owen Garmire knew the first one was gone the instant the bat made contact. But the second one - when the ball soared over his head, over the fence and careened off the scoreboard - was a surprise.

And after 6 1/3 innings of what might have been the worst pitching performance of his high-school career, the Shorecrest High School senior left-hander had given up two home runs and 10 hits in a 10-4 Western AAA Conference loss to Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday.

Garmire hadn't given up as many home runs in a game since his freshman year, and Tuesday's outcome threw a curve in Garmire's expectations for his final season.

"This is the worst I've played in a long time, but this year is definitely important for my future because what I do now is going to shape the rest of my life," Garmire said hours after the game with bloodshot eyes from tears of frustration as he iced his shoulder.

"My dreams are to have a future playing baseball."

And despite his debut Tuesday, Garmire appears to be on his way. In the past two seasons, he struck out 138 batters and pitched four shutouts. As many as three college recruitment letters arrived in the mail each day throughout the winter, and weekly phone calls from professional scouts around the country have become routine.

But for Garmire, who led the Scots to a third-place finish in the WesCo South Division last season, the added pressure serves as an incentive to succeed. He's pitched for Shorecrest since his freshman year, and has bounded back from rough outings before.

Made mark as freshman

"Every athlete has had their share of adversity and I've been pretty successful coming off these bad days," said Garmire, who also had seven strikeouts Tuesday. "The great thing about baseball is that you can have those types of games and get right back at it the next day."

Garmire has been an instrumental part of Shorecrest's baseball team since the day he stepped on campus. As a freshman, he had a 7-0 record on the junior varsity before recording seven strikeouts in three varsity games, including a nine-inning 4-2 upset against top-ranked Lake Stevens in a loser-out playoff game.

In what he calls his best season yet, Garmire had 75 strikeouts and was 9-3 his sophomore year to earn All-WesCo honorable mention. As an All-WesCo selection as a junior, he was 7-2 with 56 strikeouts and was throwing about 84 mph toward the end of the season.

"His success as a sophomore was a balance betweeen having some veteran players to run the team," Shorecrest Coach Stan Taloff said. "He wasn't put in the role of being the person to carry the load."

But after 13 Scots graduated from last season's team, Taloff said his No. 1 pitcher will be relied on to carry the Scots this season.

"He's the only veteran that we have, and he's going to keep us in the most of the games he pitches," Taloff said. "We have no hitters in our lineup that played varsity ball last year."

With composure and patience as his strengths, Garmire welcomes the challenge.

"That's the fun part," he said. "And I love the excitement of striking out the guy and being able to get through every situation."

And Garmire, 6 feet 5 and 190 pounds, does more than pitch. He also plays first base and is a (right-handed) designated hitter, and scoops up anything that comes his way on the mound. The first time he batted for Shorecrest, in his sophomore year, Garmire hit a home run.

Pro scouts visit

Taloff said Garmire is a Division-I college prospect. Garmire, who has played baseball since he was 2 and has a 3.9 grade-point average, already has visited Oregon State, and also is considering Tulane and Washington. Two scouts from the Philadelphia Phillies visited him last month.

Garmire, a Little League pitcher, insisted on positioning himself on the mound as if he was the pitcher when he was playing T-Ball at age 4.

"It was where I wanted to be," he recalled with a grin. "Out there, you've got control of what happens."

And Taloff wouldn't rather have anyone else in charge.

"He's got some great games ahead of him this year before the season is over," Taloff said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- WesCo AAA South baseball forecast

Predicted order of finish for the 1997 Western AAA Conference's South Division baseball race, based on a survey of league coaches, with first-place votes in parentheses, ballot points (points on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 system) and 1996 record. Coaches not allowed to vote for own team. (One coach did not vote.)

Pts. '96 .

1. Cascade (5) 30 17-5 . 2. Edmonds-Woodway (1) 26 19-3 . 3. Shorewood 21 8-12 . 4. Mountlake Terrace 17 7-13 . 5. Shorecrest 15 11-10 . 6. Kamiak 12 8-12 . 7. Mariner 5 6-14 .