Juanita baseball continues its run in playoffs; LW done for season

Rebels beat Kangs, 7-2

For the second time in two weeks, Juanita defeated cross-town rival Lake Washington, this time 7-2 on Tuesday to advance in the 3A KingCo baseball tournament at Bannerwood Park.

Juanita led 4-0 after two innings and upped its advantage to 7-0 in the top of the fifth. LW scored runs in the fifth and seventh innings, but couldn’t catch the Rebels.

Jayson Schroeder earned the win for Juanita, going five innings and fanning seven batters. JD Worcester sealed the victory with two innings pitched.

Juanita’s Ryan Trautmann had two hits, including a double; Taylor Peterson had two hits and one RBI; Kyle Taylor had a single and two RBIs; Matthew McKeag had a single and an RBI; and Adam Petter doubled. For LW, Travis Lee had two hits, including a double.

Juanita will next play on Saturday against a Metro squad to be determined for a state berth. The loser is out.

Following last week’s Kirkland matchup, Juanita head coach Brian Shannon said the Rebel/Kang games are always exciting, well-played contests.

Juanita has turned up the heat in the last month or so.

“We kind of had a turning point in the middle of the season when we started to swing a little bit better and the dugout was really in the game and kept up the energy,” Shannon added. “We seem to hit better when everyone’s in it, picking each other up.”

As for Schroeder, the University of Washington-bound hurler is feeling comfortable on the mound.

“I feel like every time I practice, I go out there and I warm up like there’s 30 scouts watching, so I feel like I just carry that over to the game,” he said after last week’s game. “Just work hard, I enjoy what I do.”

On the scouts that show up whenever Schroeder pitches, he noted: “It was little nervous at first, but it kind of built up to it. You just gotta tune ‘em out, just do the thing you love.”