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Meadowdale Mavericks Coach Darren Watkins had hopes there may have been some late-season magic in the Mavs bats as the team closed out their 2026 regular-season schedule on Friday. But like much of the rest of the year, the bats remained fairly quiet in their matchup against the Shorecrest Highlanders.
With just four hits in the contest, the Mavericks couldn’t get on the scoreboard and suffered a 1-0 shutout to the Scots in a Wesco League South Conference contest played at Shorecrest High School.
Unable to come up with a key base hit, Meadowdale left an agonizing eight men on base in the close loss. ”We just didn’t hit,” Watkins said.
The third and seventh innings were especially frustrating for the Mavericks’ offense as their leadoff hitters in those frames both reached third base but were unable to score.
In the third inning, senior Kealoha Kepo’o-Sabate crushed a ball to deep right-center field for a leadoff triple. Senior Benjamin Webster followed with a base-on-balls and then stole second base, but then Nash Echelbarger and Parker Elliot both struck out and King Lee ended the inning with a flyout to center, stranding both Kepo’o-Sabate and Webster in scoring position.
In the final inning and needing a run to tie the game, sophomore Vincent Pena singled sharply through the infield to set the table for the Mavericks. Keegan Wright came in to pinch-run for Pena and moved to second via a sacrifice bunt by Aaron Kibuta. After Kepo’o-Sabate popped out, Wright took third base on a wild pitch by Shorecrest’s David Telling. But the game ended with Wright at third as Echelbarger struck out and the Scots claimed victory.
Getting that key hit has been a chore throughout the season for the low-scoring Mavericks. “We’ve struggled all year,” Watkins said.
“I love the kids. We work really hard at practice and I feel we’re successful at practice,” Watkins continued. “But when it comes to gametime, we’re just missing the beat a little bit.”
The Mavericks have scored three runs or fewer in 12 of their 20 contests this year.
Kepo’o-Sabate — who has accepted an offer to play at Texas Tech University next year — started for Meadowdale on the mound, pitched 4.2 innings, scattered four hits and struck out 11 Highlander batters in the game. “Kealoha pitched his ass off on the mound (and) kept us in the game,” Watkins said. “He threw really well today. It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t get runs for him.”
Shorecrest (5-7 in the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 9-11 overall) got their one run in the fifth inning. After Elyas Rojas went down swinging to start the inning, Telling singled up the middle then moved to second on a Kepo’o-Sabate wild pitch. Telling reached third on a fielder’s choice then scored the game’s lone run on a pass ball.
Despite the loss, Meadowdale placed third (behind conference champion Edmonds-Woodway and runner-up Shorewood) in the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference (6-6, 8-12 overall), their best finish in league play since 2022. But the Mavs also finished the regular season on a three-game losing streak.
“Hopefully we can turn this around and be a better team in the playoffs,” Watkins said. “We’re going to do our best. We’re going to roll them out there, we’re going to compete and try to be dogs out there.”
The Mavericks will open the District 1 3A Baseball Tournament with play on Tuesday, May 5, playing a tourney loser-out game, possibly on their home field. Seeding and opening round matchups in the 12-team tournament will be announced on Sunday. The top four finishers in the tourney will earn berths in the 20-team WIAA 3A state tournament that begins on May 19.
To view the District 1 3A Baseball Tournament bracket, click www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&tournament_id=5176.
Prep Baseball: Meadowdale at Shorecrest, May 1
Meadowdale 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 4 1
Shorecrest 0 0 0 0 1 0 x – 1 4 0
Winning pitcher: Finan McLaughlin (Shorecrest); 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 hit, 4 SO, 2 BB
Losing pitcher: Kealoha Kepo’o-Sabate (Meadowdale); 4.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 hits, 11 SO, 4 BB
Records: Meadowdale 6-6 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 8-12 overall; Shorecrest 5-7 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 9-11 overall
Meadowdale next game: versus opponent to be determined; Tuesday, May 5; time and place to be announced (District 1 3A Baseball Tournament loser-out game)
Shorecrest next game: versus opponent to be determined; Tuesday, May 5; time and place to be announced (District 1 3A Baseball Tournament loser-out game)
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