The Mountlake Terrace High School baseball team took advantage of every opportunity it created Saturday — and also took seized on opportunities the Hawks got from Edmonds-Woodway.

Mountlake Terrace put together three productive innings on offense, sophomore pitcher Owen Meek held the Warriors scoreless for six innings, and the Hawks defeated Edmonds-Woodway 9-3 to win the Class 3A District 1 baseball championship on a glorious day at Funko Field in Everett.

Mountlake Terrace improved to 18-4 with the win and Edmonds-Woodway fell to 18-5. Both teams have qualified for 3A state tournament play next week along with Mount Vernon and Stanwood, as the Bulldogs and Spartans each won Saturday and share third place from the district.

Meek kept the Warriors off balance for nearly the entire game, combining pinpoint control and high velocity, as he racked up several inning-ending strikeouts and didn’t allow a run in the first six innings.

Edmonds-Woodway starter Lukas Wanke was cruising until he ran into trouble in the top of the third inning. Hawks catcher Griffin Potter hit a leadoff single, then appeared to rattle the Warriors infield a bit when a pickoff attempt went awry. Griffin remained at first base at that point, but Ryan Sturgill sacrificed him to second base.

After the Warriors put Talan Zenk on first base with an intentional walk, Ethan Swenson hit into an error — one of four committed by Edmonds-Woodway. Jack Gripentrog then drove home the game’s first two runs with a single to left field.

The Hawks added three runs in the fourth, as Sturgill’s hard shot was mishandled and two Mountlake Terrace runs scored. Zank’s double to the wall in left field then scored Sturgill for a 5-0 lead.

Mountlake Terrace added four more runs in the top of the seventh. Nolan Valdivia’s sharp single to left put runners at first and second, and Robert Swan followed with a single to score Tyler Shankle.

Two hitters later, a walk to Sturgill forced in a run, and two batters after that, Swenson hit a hard chopper to third that resulted in an errant throw to first base and the Hawks’ final two runs.

Edmonds-Woodway’s bats came to life in the bottom of the seventh, as the Warriors scored three runs before making the final out. Two wild pitches kept the inning moving, and a fly ball by Trevelyan Podawiltz that landed just inside the left field foul line scored Luke Boland.

Grafton Marshall-Inman’s sharp ground ball resulted in a throwing error that scored a run, and Diego Escandon’s fly ball to deep center field pushed across the Warriors’ final run.

———

Mountlake Terrace 9, Edmonds-Woodway 3 

Mountlake Terrace          002  300  4 — 9  11   2

Edmonds-Woodway     000   000   3 — 3   4   4

WP: Owen Meek

LP: Lukas Wanke

— Story and photos by Craig Parrish