Zach Johnson went the distance on the mound with an extra inning, and led off the eighth with a double that would prove the winning run as the gutsy Kangaroos edged Bellevue High Wednesday 3-2.
The win leaves the Kangs at 11-3 and in second place in the KingCo 3A baseball standings (15-5 overall), with a bye in the first round of next week’s conference tournament.
Johnson’s brother Nick Johnson hit the game-winning single in the game at Bellevue, dropping the Wolverines to 10-4 in conference play.
"This was a grueling, gritty game with a lot on the line," said LW Coach Derek Bingham. "It's a really great win. I'm real proud of them."
Zach Johnson scattered seven hits over the eight innings and struck out three to earn his fifth win as Lake Washington bounced back from two straight disappointing losses. Johnson finished the regular season with a remarkable 0.78 earned run average over 45 innings.
Kangs power hitter Theo Alexander and starting leftfielder Victor Mayorquin sat out their second straight game. Coach Bingham would only say it was due to “some internal stuff. They'll both be back for the tournament.”
Zach Johnson had two hits in four at-bats, while his brother Nick had the one RBI single in three at-bats. Alac Wong finished 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run. Sean Gray went 1-for-4 and scored a run.
The Kangs face the winner of the first-round Juanita/Bellevue game in the KingCo Tournament on Thursday, 4 p.m., at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.
