All teams dream of a state title, LW baseball is well on its way

It doesn't matter who you ask, any high school athlete — especially the boys — will say their goal for the season is to win a state championship.

It doesn’t matter who you ask, any high school athlete — especially the boys — will say their goal for the season is to win a state championship.

The Lake Washington High School baseball team might have a legitimate claim.

The Kangaroos (14-1 overall, 12-1) hold a slim lead on fellow KingCo league opponent Mercer Island, the defending Class 3A state champion, with five games remaining. Perhaps the biggest game of the season is still upcoming: an April 25 showdown with Mercer Island at Lee Johnson Field.

A win would all but clinch the regular season title and provide a big boost for the postseason.

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“To say [a state championship] wouldn’t realistic for this group would be saying a lot,” Lake Washington coach Derek Bingham said. “That is a goal of ours, but we have goals along the way. First is winning the regular season title, and that’s what we’re shooting for right now.”

This season the Kangaroos are starting all seniors, part of the first freshman class since LW changed from a three-year to a four-year school. And led by their seniors, Lake Washington is on a roll. The Kangs have won seven games in a row, including two no hitters: one from Connor Johnson on April 8, and another from Nick Ludwig on April 11.

“[Our confidence is] pretty high,” Ludwig said following the Kangs’ April 11 win over Interlake. “We’ve been executing really well, and making pitches when we need to. That’s gotten us the ‘W’ in the last few games.”

Ludwig improved to 5-0 as a starter on Monday, April 18, with a 10-2 win over Bellevue, and boasts an ERA of .44. Senior Paul Falco is undefeated in five starts on the mound. Johnson is 3-1, and both have an ERA under two runs per game.

The Kangaroos have outscored opponents 68-3 in their last seven games, including four shutouts. Falco hit two homers on April 8, and is tied for the team lead in homers with Jake Wikel.

Matt Scheffler is hitting .467 with 12 RBIs, one of four starters hitting around or above .400. Kevin Nakahara leads the team with 21 hits and 16 RBIs, while Falco has been effecient with 12 hits and 12 RBIs in 15 games.

“We have always been the team that, when May comes around, you don’t want to play us,” Falco said. “We’re on a roll, we’re all working hard late in the season and we always have our minds in the right place.”

Falco said he worked on his two-strike approach in the offseason, and the work has paid off: both April 8 homers came with two strikes.

Now, the challenge is to bottle the success and keep the Kangs in form for the playoffs.

“We are playing well, and I cautioned the guys that the team that’s playing well in April isn’t the team that wins [state]; the team that’s playing well in May is the one that wins it,” Bingham said.

Lake Washington is no stranger to the state playoffs, having made the 2014 state title game, a 2-1 loss to Ellensburg High in Yakima. Last season, the Kangs won the 3A KingCo tournament and made the state playoffs, but lost 1-0 to Shorewood in the first round.

And with the league tournament only a few weeks away, there’s nothing scarier than a team on a mission — especially when the team isn’t simply winning tight games by chance.

“I wouldn’t say that we have one specific strength,” Bingham said. “Our defense, I would put up against anybody. Our pitching staff has proven they can get anybody out, and offensively, we’re swinging the bats well.”