(Photo by Oliver Hamlin)

By Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Clear skies and warm breezes made it a perfect Friday night for baseball, as rivals West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School suited up to take the field at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. The weather fostered a festive atmosphere in the stands as well. At one point, the fans broke out into a singalong with the Zac Brown Band’s breezy single “Knee Deep” between innings.

(Photo by Tracy Burrows: Above, CSIHS #2, Julian Reinhardt)

On the field, it was a tale of two contests – a slugfest for the first three innings and a pitcher’s duel for the final three and a half, with West Seattle coming away with the win by a score of 7-6.

(Photo by Oliver Hamlin)

The Wildcats got things going in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs off Sealth’s starting pitcher, Teo Perala.

(Photo by Oliver Hamlin)

The big blow was a towering double by Lincoln Scott (#44 below), who advanced to third on the throw to home plate.

(Photo by Tracy Burrows)

Sealth tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the second with timely hitting and smart baserunning, scoring a run on a West Seattle wild pitch. Sealth went ahead 6-3 in the top of the third, powered by a Perala double. West Seattle wasted no time in answering back, tying the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the inning, helped by three walks and a hit batter by the Sealth pitchers.

(Photo by Tracy Burrows)

The rest of the night belonged to West Seattle’s pitcher Oliver Heltzel (above), who held the Seahawks scoreless for the last four innings, notching 5 strikeouts and forcing many ground ball outs. Sealth kept the game close with some stellar defense but gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth through a combination of a walk, stolen base, fielder’s choice, and wild pitch. Sealth’s Sam Popelka (#7) pitched 3+ innings in relief

WHAT’S NEXT: Both games are back at NCSWAC next Wednesday (April 23), against different opponents – Sealth vs. Roosevelt at 4 pm, WSIHS vs. Nathan Hale at 7 pm.