The surging Redmond High School baseball team will bring a wealth of state-tournament experience to Kent Memorial Park when it takes on Kentridge in a Class 4A state playoff opener Saturday.
Seniors Peter Hendron, who will play at Santa Clara University next year, and Patrick McGrath, who is headed to Washington State University, will be playing in their third straight state tournament when the Mustangs (15-8) face the Chargers (14-8) at 1 p.m.
“Peter and Patrick understand the environment — the energy and the emotion,” said Redmond coach Dan Pudwill. “They will be able to help the team play with high energy, but controlled baseball. Nerves won’t be a problem with those two and that calm demeanor will help others.”
In addition, seniors Cody Beliel, Adam Cline, Conner Bozman and Thomas Crosley were contributors last season when the Mustangs placed fourth at state.
Pudwill is hoping Redmond’s experience will offset Kentridge’s home-field advantage.
“We will be playing in Kentridge’s backyard,” Pudwill said. “They have familiarity with the field — both will provide a challenge for us.”
If the Mustangs knock off Kentridge, the Mustangs play again at 4 p.m. against the winner of the Kentwood-Edmonds-Woodway game at Kent Memorial Park with a state semifinal berth at stake. The state semifinals will be Saturday, May 25 at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.
Both Redmond and Kentridge enter the state tournament on a winning streak. The Mustangs won three straight games last week on the way to winning the Kingco 4A tournament title. Kentridge has won five straight and seven of its last eight games.
“They have gotten hot at the right time,” Pudwill said of the Chargers, the No. 5 seed from District 3/4.
But the Mustangs are also on a hot streak. After an 0-7 start to the season, the Mustangs have won 15 of their last 16 games and enter the state tournament as the District 1/2 top seed. Hendron and McGrath have been major contributors to the Mustangs’ surge.
Hendron, a pitcher and first baseman, is second on the team in wins with four and is second on the team in batting average at .365. McGrath, a shortstop, leads the team in batting average at .385 and has been on torrid hitting streak of late. He went 7 for 7 in the three Kingco 4A tournament game last week and has a six-game hitting streak, including four straight multiple-hit games.
Pudwill declined to say who would start for Redmond on the mound against Kentridge. The top two choices to make the start on the mound are Hendron, who pitched a perfect game against Eastlake April 20, and Cline, who leads the team with five wins — all of them being complete-game outings.
While the Mustangs are loaded with senior experience, junior Brent Firth has provided the punch in the Mustangs’ lineup with a team-high three home runs and 14 RBIs, which ranks second on the team behind McGrath’s 15.
