Latest news with #MarcWiese
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Light fight: Controversy postpones Puyallup vs. Lake Washington state baseball game
Trailing 8-0 to Lake Washington after four innings, it looked like the lights were about to go out on Puyallup's undefeated baseball season. Instead, the lights at Parker Faller Field in Yakima started going out as the sun was setting in the final game of the day, a Class 4A state tournament semifinal game. Puyallup coach Marc Wiese voiced his frustration with the lighting conditions as the game wore on, then the umpires paused the game and began having conversations with both team's coaches, event staff and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) staffers on hand for the event. Most of the lights, particularly in the outfield, were operational and working fine, but several of the lights in the two fixtures on both baselines closest to home plate were out. Each light fixture at the stadium had between six and eight individual lights. On one of the baseline fixtures, only two were functioning. Several were out on the other, as well. After almost an hour-long delay, the umpire crew and WIAA officials decided to postpone and resume the game at 10 a.m. Saturday. 'When the lights didn't fully come on, the umpires decided to suspend the game because they couldn't see the balls coming in,' Justin Kesterson told The News Tribune. Kesterson is the WIAA's assistant executive director. 'The home plate umpire made that decision with his crew, that it was just too hard to see the ball, to be fair with both teams and for safety.' Puyallup coach Marc Wiese had pointed words for the WIAA. 'You can't play baseball in this,' he said. 'We've got four lights (total) basically on both bases. And here's the thing: Yakima Valley (Community College), their coach even told them, you cannot play night games here, etc. The WIAA knew about this. They've got some explaining to do.' Kesterson said he was not personally aware of any issues with the stadium lighting during night games prior to the event. 'I'm not aware, myself, of any situations where there were issues with the lights,' he said. It looked likely Lake Washington was closing in on a win, stunning the undefeated, nationally-ranked Puyallup Vikings from the first pitch. The game was billed as a potential pitcher's duel — Puyallup's Mason Pike and Lake Washington's Shane Johnson — but Lake Washington jumped on Pike early. Johnson, meanwhile, was rolling. Lake Washington coach Derek Bingham said it was a difficult situation. 'It's really tough,' he told the TNT. 'You prepare all season for the final four, play your best game of the year for four innings and now you've gotta come back and do it tomorrow.' Whether or not the rules would allow for Bingham to use Johnson, an Oregon commit, again on Saturday, he wasn't sure. But he said he won't throw him again. 'He's got too bright of a future for me to put him back out there after a full warm-up, pitching four innings,' Bingham said. 'I would never do that, regardless of what's on the line.' Bingham said he also didn't feel there was any gamesmanship from Wiese, with Puyallup trailing 8-0. 'I have too much respect for Marc for that,' he said. 'It was dark. I agree it's dark. I don't know if it's unplayable, but when it got darker, it looks like maybe.' Wiese said he felt the site, which is a bit dated, simply isn't adequate to host the 3A and 4A baseball championships. What's available to the WIAA in any given year depends on the schedules of minor league baseball teams around the state, a WIAA spokesperson told the TNT. Last year's 3A and 4A state tournament semifinals and championship games were played at Gesa Stadium in Pasco. 'This is not suitable,' Wiese said. '100 percent. The biggest thing is, for (the WIAA) to know about this lighting, it's just a disappointment, to be quite honest with you. At the end of the day, we've got three innings left and we still have a shot to win. Tomorrow, we're gonna roll over, it's gonna be a new day. Maybe we'll have some good fortune.' The game will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The 3A and 4A third/fourth place consolation games have been canceled. The 3A state championship game will be played at 1 p.m. and the 4A state championship game will be played at 4 p.m. The WIAA said it considered trying to move the consolation games to other local sites, but it didn't look like it'd work. 'We had that conversation, just talking through the facilities and what might be available, especially on short notice,' Kesterson said. 'We didn't feel that would be able to be done, to be able to set up all the other components of that. There was no other stadium available to help mitigate the issue of trying to push and keep the games at their scheduled times.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Madden Pike shines in relief, Puyallup beats rival Sumner to win 4A bidistrict title
Puyallup reliever Madden Pike kept losing his cap after his pitches Saturday, but he didn't lose his head or the lead once he got it in a 7-6 Class 4A District 3/4 championship win over rival Sumner. 'I've got to strap it down I guess,' said the 15-year-old ninth grader who showed composure beyond his years. 'The fastball, fork ball, slider and curveball, they all worked good together.' 'He's got no fear,' said Vikings head coach Marc Wiese. 'He's just going to compete. That's why we wanted the ball in his hands.' After being greeted by a game-tying, two-run triple to Spartans catcher Grayson Meier with one out in the top of the third, Pike kept wriggling out of jams and did not allow another run the rest of the way. He held Meier on a ground ball back to him for the second out in the third and the threat ended on a pop out to third base. That was a sign of things to come. A Sumner runner was left on second with one out in the fourth and another on third with two outs in the fifth after Kyler Malner singled and scored on a triple by Noah Benedict for a 7-6 Puyallup lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Spartans threatened again in the sixth as Jaxon Cummings hit an infield single and Wyatt Plyler doubled him over to third with one out. But Pike held the runners on another ball back to him and center fielder Riley Sanoy snagged a low sinking shot into the gap in left center off the bat of Xander Cypher to end it and save two runs. Sumner loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh and final inning, but a grounder to Puyallup second baseman Mason Pike wrapped up the Vikings' third win over the Spartans this year. Now both teams go on to state regional play next Saturday with locations and pairings to be announced Sunday. Puyallup advances with a 26-0 overall mark and hopes for four more wins for a 30-0 record and a state championship. 'Hopefully we're good and lucky at the same time,' Wiese said. Sumner started off Saturday's game on a windy night at Tahoma High School beyond Covington with three runs in a two-out rally in the top of the first. Jacob Miller was hit by a pitch and advanced on a Cypher single ahead of a Bryce Carl double and a Cameron Westerdahl single. Puyallup got two runs back in the bottom of the inning on four walks, a hit batter and an RBI sacrifice fly by Mason Pike. The Vikings rallied for four more in the second to go up, 6-3. Madden Pike drew a leadoff walk and scored on a one out double by Sanoy. Mason Pike singled home Sanoy ahead of a Gage Thompson walk and a two-run single by Malner. Benedict walked to load the bases and Keagan Soliza scored Thompson on an infield single. Sumner knotted it with a three-run third. Cypher walked and Carl was hit by a pitch ahead of a RBI double by Westerdahl and Meier's two-run triple deep to left center. But Madden Pike held the Spartans scoreless the rest of the way and Benedict tripled in Malner with the winning run in the fourth. 'We haven't won this thing in three years,' pointed out Wiese. 'These guys wanted this game.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
23-0! Undefeated Puyallup overpowers Sumner in 4A SPSL championship
Puyallup's undefeated season continues: Gage Thompson doubled twice, Mason Pike drove in two runs, and the Vikings toppled Sumner, 11-7, in Wednesday night's 4A SPSL championship. Puyallup (23-0), ranked No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps, completed an unblemished run through one of the state's deeper leagues and remains the clear-cut 4A favorite entering next week's district tournament. The Vikings finished runner-up to Richland last year. 'These guys have a ton of pressure on themselves,' longtime Vikings head coach Marc Wiese said. 'They go out and they expect to win every game. We've had to really grind. 'These guys are resilient and have an opportunity to do something extremely special. In 2014, we went 28-0 and (now) we're ranked in the top five in the country. We have a shot. But we also know that there's a lot of teams in the state of Washington that can beat us in a one-game series. It's baseball.' The Vikings led by as many as seven runs in Wednesday's league championship, grabbing four runs in each of the first and third innings. Pike, the state's top pitching prospect who threw five scoreless frames in Tuesday's semifinals, sparked Wednesday's scoring spree with an RBI double and finished 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Puyallup threatened for more in the first before Sumner starter Xander Cypher induced a strikeout and popout to stop the bleeding, stranding the bases loaded. 'I thought we had a shot to really break it open and get a few more,' Wiese said of the first inning. 'Xander made a couple good pitches and stopped us there.' Cypher threw four frames, allowing eight hits and eight earned runs with four strikeouts. In the third, freshman DH Madden Pike ripped an RBI double and Mason Pike's ensuing single scored his younger brother, capping another four-run frame. Puyallup lefty Jett Reed went three innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs. He walked three and struck out four. Thompson went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Vikings catcher Keagan Soliza went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Sumner rallied for three runs in the final frame, headlined by Jake Miller's two-run double. Puyallup would clinch a state-tournament berth with a win in their district opener on May 13. Matchups are to be determined. 'Hopefully, the bats can remain hot,' Wiese said. 'I like what we can do offensively as a whole.'
