It was prom night, but Matt Kelleran wasn’t yet decked out in his tuxedo.
The Bear Creek School senior was still sporting his green, gold and white baseball duds last Saturday as his date waited in the stands for the baseball game to finish.
From his spot on the pitcher’s mound, Kelleran didn’t dance around the Nooksack Valley lineup — he plowed right through the opposition. He struck out the first nine batters en route to a 5-0 victory to give his combined Bear Creek-Overlake Growls squad the No. 3 seed to the 1A state playoffs. Kelleran finished with 11 strikeouts and surrendered just two hits.
“He had some other important places to be,” coach Mike Davidson said with a laugh.
“We got to the dance on time, but not to dinner,” said Kelleran (5-0 from the mound), noting that his date was fine with him helping lead the Growls to their 20th victory this season alongside just three losses.
At state, the Growls will play Cascade Christian at 10 a.m. May 21 at Volunteer Field in Anacortes.
The Growls won a pair of games on Saturday in the Bi-District 1/2 tournament, first defeating South Whidbey, 4-2, to earn the state berth behind the complete-game pitching of Ryan Long. Against South Whidbey, Tellier Lundquist had two hits and Peter Dudunakis had two RBIs. Against Nooksack, Lundquist had three hits and Kelleran added two.
Earlier in the tournament, Nooksack defeated the Growls, 2-1, and the locals defeated Lynden Christian, 12-6.
Davidson’s team features just one senior — Kelleran — and the coach didn’t know what to expect of his squad this season. From day one, Davidson said the team was brimming with confidence and set a lofty goal of winning the state crown.
“Day by day, they’ve set out to make that happen,” said Davidson, adding that his loose, close-knit team’s motto is “to be together for one more week.”
And the team keeps rolling, building steam each time the Growls step onto the diamond.
Long, a junior who has tied the school record with eight wins this season, said it was an awesome feeling to be on the mound to knock off South Whidbey, a team that defeated the Growls in a 14-inning heartbreaker at districts last season. Revenge was sweet and everyone played a role in the victory.
“You trust your defense, and everyone on the field can make a great play,” said Long, who has only one loss and 73 strikeouts. “The team dynamic (is solid) and every one of us gets along really well. We’re upbeat in the dugout and are always supporting each other.”
Long praised his catcher, sophomore Ryan Eldridge, for making copious stellar plays and having a positive attitude.
Other Growl standouts are junior Dudunakis (.500 average with nine doubles), sophomore Lundquist (.429 average with six doubles, three triples, two homers and 25 RBIs) and junior Karsten Kohout (.439 average with seven doubles, two homers and 27 RBIs). Kelleran is also hitting .500 with seven doubles, six triples and 29 RBIs, while Long is batting .329 with four doubles and four triples.
Co-captains Kelleran and Long were co-MVPs in the Emerald City League and coach Davidson said he’s proud of his one-two pitching combo.
“We can trust either of those guys when they’re on the mound,” he said.
Long said that he enjoys teaming up with Kelleran and notes that his colleague is a hard worker who never gives up on anything. Davidson added that Kelleran’s senior leadership is unwaveringly positive and there’s not an ego in sight.
“He has secret handshakes with the freshmen. He welcomes everyone on the team and just wants his team to be successful,” the coach said.
Kelleran, who has been pitching since he was 9 years old, said his experience drives him to thrive in pressure situations.
“Just one pitch at a time and keep my cool, no matter what’s going on,” he said.
