It’s hard to blame O’Dea for intentionally walking UW commit Christopher Moore, the Kentlake two-way star who has been tearing the cover off the baseball all spring.
But the guy behind him isn’t too shabby, either.
When Matthew Ledbetter stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Class 3A state tournament semifinal game at Everett Memorial Stadium on Friday night with the bases loaded, he was ready for the moment and he delivered. He stung a double down the right field line, plating a pair of runs and giving Kentlake a 2-1 lead.
It held and Kentlake won, 2-1, to advance to Saturday’s 3A state championship game.
“It’s a big feeling,” Ledbetter said of his double. “Definitely had that oppo approach, stuck to my approach and it ended up working out.”
Moore has been intentionally walked often enough this season that the scenario that played out on Friday night is one that Kentlake coach Mike Suguro has simulated in practice.
“Seeing how he handles it in practice, we knew he was well equipped to handle it in the game,” Suguro said.
The way Moore was pitching, two runs was enough. He tossed 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit, a run, walking five and striking out eight.
“I lost a feel for the fastball at times but my changeup was working well, my slider was working well and I trusted my defense,” he said. “Couldn’t have worked out better.”
It’s the type of grinding performance Suguro has come to expect from Moore.
“It’s just grit,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been preaching every single day of every single practice, we’ve gotta have grit, gotta battle pitch to pitch. Things aren’t going to go our way sometimes and we’ve just gotta find a way to battle, ride the storm. He did a heck of a job.”
Ledbetter went 3-for-3. Jacob Lawrence also had a multi-hit game for the Falcons, going 2-for-3.
Kentlake will face the winner of Decatur and Eastside Catholic in Saturday’s championship game, 7 p.m. in Everett. If the opponent is Decatur, it’s a familiar one, as the teams both play in the 3A North Puget Sound League. Decatur won both meetings between the teams this year at the beginning of the season.
Of course, if the matchup materializes, Saturday would be the only one meeting that matters.
“It wouldn’t be a sweeter ending,” Moore said. “Can’t draw it up that way.”
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