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Quick Hits From Metro Playoffs - Seattle Prep / Eastside Catholic

May 1, 2019
Dan Jurik
Scouting Director - Pacific Northwest

Sammaish, WA - The back end of Tuesday's playoff DH featured Seattle Prep against Eastside Catholic. Behind an offensive explosion in the 4th inning and a complete game effort from ‘19 RHP Will Armbruester, Eastside Catholic cruised to a convincing 11-2 victory over the visitors

eASTSIDE cATHOLIC VS sEATTLE pREP

The Crusaders of Eastside Catholic were paced on offense by multi-hit games from ‘19 OF Conner Niemann, ‘19 OF Art Schoenstadt and ‘21 C Jack Rhea.

Nearly all of the offense came in the 4th inning that saw Eastside score 9 of their 11 runs. Schoenstadt, a Missouri commit, got the inning going by legging out a hustle single on a sharp ground ball to the right side that was stopped on a diving effort by the second baseman. After the next batter walked, Rhea came up and executed his sac bunt so effectively that it turned into a clean single. With the bases loaded, pinch hitter ‘21 Thomas Martin lined a 2 RBI single up the middle. Another walk loaded the bases for Niemann, who roped a double into the RCF gap to score 2 more runs. After an RBI single from ‘19 SS Zach Sanidad (Oregon commit), the line-up turned over again and got back to Schoenstadt. He proceeded to get his 2nd hit of the inning, this time a double to RF. After that, ‘19 3B Nico Carrigan delivered a dagger when he launched an oppo, 2 run HR. When all was said and done, Eastside took a 10-2 lead into the 5th and that was more than enough cushion for ‘19 RHP Will Armbruester (New Mexico commit) to work with.

Armbruester finished with a final line of 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB and 11 K. He held the velocity on his FB throughout all 7 innings, consistently sitting 86-89 and topping at 90 multiple times. He used his CB steadily and it continued to get sharper with more break as the game went on. Came out firm at 74-76 early with some lateral shape to it. By the 6th and 7th innings, the velo was more in the 72-74 range and it had better depth with more bend thru the zone. Armbruester worked quick and went right after hitters while continuing to display a poised, competitive demeanor on the mound.

His battery mate, ‘21 C Jack Rhea has shown advanced receiving ability with clean, projectable catch and throw actions all spring. At 5-foot-9, 155 he has a frame that still projects and he’s already showing signs of offensive development. He maintains a consistent approach at the plate with quality feel for the barrel. Narrowly missed a HR in the early innings when he drove a ball to the LCF gap and had to settle for a ground-rule double. He’ll be a young player to keep an eye on moving forward.

For Seattle Prep, ‘20 RHP Kevin Brinton had the tough task of silencing the Crusader bats. He came out sharp early on but ran into some trouble during that 4th inning. He started out sitting in the low 80’s with his FB and paired it with a repeatable 11/5 CB at 67-69. Although this was a tough outing for him, he has a frame that will allow him to put on additional strength and that could significantly impact his development in a positive way.  

 
‘21 RHP Tyler Heinen came on late in relief for Seattle Prep and did an effective job of keeping Eastside Catholic off the board after their big offensive outburst. He allowed 1 ER over his 2 innings of work while issuing 3 BB and punching out 5 batters.

There wasn’t much doing on offense for Seattle Prep but ‘20 SS Kellen Carr notched 1 of their 3 hits and played sound defense at SS. He has an athletic frame with some present strength at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. ‘20 C Ryne Hays went 0-2 but worked his tail off blocking balls all night. He also showed some juice in his bat when he launched a ball to deep RF for an F9. ‘21 3B Andrew Graham and ‘19 1B Mark McClean contributed the other hits for Seattle Prep on the night.

 

Eastside Catholic will now face off against O’Dea on Thursday night while Seattle Prep will match-up with Roosevelt on Friday.