Prep Baseball / Class AAA Semifinals -- Newport Adjusts Focus On State -- Knights Enjoy Chance To Get Away From Spate Of Off-Field Problems

BELLEVUE - The Newport Knights climbed into three vans after school yesterday and left for Yakima and the Class AAA state baseball final four.

No more police to deal with. No more questions and rumors about why 10 junior-varsity players recently were suspended. All that matters today and tomorrow at Yakima County Stadium are balls and strikes, hits and errors, and the pursuit of a state championship.

". . . It's been pretty tough," junior pitcher Taylor Grant said of the recent investigation. "But I think it made us focus more. Now we just want to win."

Sixth-ranked Newport (20-5) plays unranked Port Angeles (21-6) at 4 p.m. in today's first semifinal game. Top-ranked Hudson's Bay (22-2) of Vancouver faces No. 3 Kennewick (23-1) at 7 p.m. The winners meet in tomorrow's championship game at 4 p.m.

The fact the Knights are playing is remarkable. Grant suffered an injury to his deltoid muscle and missed several starts. Then No. 2 starter Robert Knapp was suspended for the rest of the season for disciplinary reasons. Then came the emergency suspensions of the junior varsity players.

Traveling 180 miles, sleeping in unfamiliar beds and living on fast food normally is a disadvantage. But maybe not for this team, which eagerly left two weeks of off-field turmoil farther behind with each push of the accelerator.

"It's been a little stressful," senior Mike Haack said. "It just feels good to get away."

This is Haack's second trip to Yakima this week. He won the Class AAA state golf tournament at Apple Tree Golf Course on Wednesday. Though Haack was also named All-Crest Division first team at third base in baseball, pitching probably will determine whether Haack wins his second state title in three days.

Grant (5-1), who still can't throw a curveball, is scheduled to start tomorrow in "what I hope is the championship game." Sophomore Gio Pupo (4-0), who defeated defending state champion South Kitsap in last week's Region I tournament, was to start against Port Angeles today.

The Roughriders showed their pitching prowess last Saturday, allowing one run in winning the Region II championship. But they are making their first appearance in the state semifinals, a fact Newport believes gives it an advantage as it tries to erase the memory of semifinal losses to eventual state champion Kelso in 1995 and to runner-up Richland last year.

"I think this is our time now," said senior Marc Rittenhouse, one of four Knights named to KingCo's All-Crest Division first team. "We've all pretty much been there at least once. So we know what it's like. We know what we need to do to win it."

Knights Coach Brian Fischer told his players that if they reached the final four, he "would find a way to win it."

Hudson's Bay Eagles

This team is deep in pitching, led by Chris Tynan (8-1, 1.35 earned-run average) and sophomore Ty Howington (6-0, 0.69 ERA). Team batting average is .345, led by junior outfielder Ben McGreu at .425 and followed by senior B.J. Huson (.391) and sophomore Joel Suguitan (.377). Jeremy Rankin (.368), a four-year starter at first base, is headed for Oregon State to play baseball. Six players were members of last summer's Vancouver team that advanced to the American Legion World Series.

Kennewick Lions

Coach Dean Hoff is in his 28th season at Kennewick, and this might be his best team. The Lions pack a .390 team batting average, led by Tyrel Davis, a sophomore third baseman with a .522 average and 42 RBI. His older brothers, Trek and Trevor, both won Big Nine Conference batting titles. Junior D.J. Overturf carries a .453 average with 37 RBI, and second baseman Jason Barnett is at .444. Junior left-hander Kevin Jamison is 9-0 with a 2.05 ERA, and right-hnder Matt Massingale is 9-1 with a 3.36 ERA.

Port Angeles Roughriders

Coach Randy Steinman admits his team isn't loaded with offensive power, but it has two major qualities - seniors and pitching. Sophomore left-hander Jeff Ridgway, the only starting underclassman, is 9-1 after getting credit for for two victories (No. 8 Lake Washington and No. 6 Edmonds-Woodway) in last Saturday's Region II tournament. Jeremy Janssen, a senior right-hander, is 6-0 and leads the Roughriders in hitting with a .436 average and 40 RBI. Right fieder Jesse Edwards and third baseman James McBride are hitting .360 and .340, respectively.

The Yakima Herald-Republic contributed to this report.