Shorewood pitcher Blake Snell drew a crowd of professional baseball scouts and executives to the Thunderbird-Oak Harbor game Tuesday, April 12, and the hard-throwing lefthander put on a good show.
Snell fired a two-hitter, stuck out 19 and walked none in a 2-0 win over the visiting Wildcats.
The win helped Shorewood (9-2, 6-0) take control of the Wesco 3A standings and move two games ahead of second-place Oak Harbor (7-3-1, 4-2) and Mountlake Terrace (7-4, 4-2).
The Wildcats play at Everett (5-7, 3-3) today, April 13, and then host the Seagulls Friday at 4 p.m.
Snell is regarded by many as the top professional prospect in the state. The wad of scouts positioned behind the home-plate backstop looked like a state patrol speed trap on steroids as a dozen radar guns recorded each pitch.
Snell’s fastball hovered around 90 miles-per-hour and a nasty slider and change up baffled Wildcat hitters.
Oak Harbor coach Tyson VanDam praised Snell but was disappointed in his team’s offensive effort: “He is very good, but he is not 19-strikeout good. When the game started, we changed our approach.”
VanDam said the plan was to attach Snell’s fastball, but Wildcat hitters consistently took fastballs for strikes and flailed at off-speed pitches.
Oak Harbor threatened twice. Jay Stout reached on an infield single in the first with one out and took second on a passed ball, but two strikeouts ended the inning.
Sam Wolfe boarded on an error to lead off the sixth and stole second, but Snell snuffed the rally with a trio of Ks.
Lost in focus on Snell was a solid pitching performance by Stout. The Wildcats senior used effective off-speed pitches to keep his team in the game but got no support from the Oak Harbor offense. He pitched a five-hitter and struck out two.
Stout’s performance included just two hiccups, and that’s all Snell needed to secure the win.
Stout walked only three in the game, but unfortunately they came in order after a lead off infield single in the second and forced in a run. Stout gave up a home run in the sixth.
Ryan Byrne collected Oak Harbor’s second hit with two outs in the fifth.
