Prep baseball: Jungmann throws two-hit shutout to lead Royals to district championship

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Lynnwood’s Lucas Jungmann delivers a pitch against Shorewood during the District 1 title game Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Two weeks ago, Lynnwood was one out away from taking two of three games from Shorewood and in all likelihood claiming the Wesco 3A South baseball title. The Thunderbirds, however, rallied to win 3-2 and they went on to win the league championship.

It’s safe to say the Royals are over that loss after Saturday.

Behind a masterful two-hit shutout by senior pitcher Lucas Jungmann, Lynnwood defeated Shorewood 3-0 in the 3A District 1 championship game at Everett Memorial Stadium.

The victory means that the Royals (17-6 overall), the District 1 No. 1 seed, will face the No. 4 seed from District 3-4 in a first round state regional game at 1 p.m., Saturday, May 23, at Dream Field in Mount Vernon.

“They stole Wesco from us, so it was a redemption game for us,” Jungmann said of Saturday’s district championship game.

Jungmann struck out five and walked only two batters in the complete game performance. The Thunderbirds (19-4) did not advance a runner past second base all game.

“This was the biggest game I’ve ever played in high school,” Jungmann said. “It’s good to get out of here with the win. … Our team played great today. We had a lot of clutch hits in good situations.”

Sophomore Jared Whitman provided one of those clutch hits in the second inning when on an 0-2 count he stroked an RBI double to left field to score Jungmann, who had singled to center field earlier in the inning.

“That was huge,” said Lynnwood coach Fraser Dizard. “It’s momentum. It gets our guys up. I feel like we play better when we have the lead. We’re a little more loose. It was a huge hit for Jared Whitman. It probably was the biggest hit we had all game.”

Lynnwood players celebrate beating Shorewood 3-0 and winning the District 1 title.
Lynnwood players celebrate beating Shorewood 3-0 and winning the District 1 title.

The Royals added a couple of insurance runs in the fifth. Whitman drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on ground out by Brice Foster. Chase Hacker, who beat out a bunt in the inning, also would score on a wild pitch.

Dizard was glad to have those two extra runs but he was by no means comfortable with only a three-run lead on Shorewood.

“It gave us some breathing room, three runs,” Dizard said. “I never felt comfortable against this team. We had them one out away from winning the league title and we kind of let it get away from us. Three runs is not enough. I wanted more.”

But with Jungmann on the mound, it turned out that three runs was more than enough. Dizard expected a solid performance from his senior standout and he delivered.

“He probably had one of his best games of the year,” Dizard said. “He battled … and showed a lot of guts.”

Lynnwood's Brady Girgus swings at a pitch.
Lynnwood’s Brady Girgus swings at a pitch.

Both Dizard and Jungmann agree that throwing first-pitch strikes was the key to Saturday’s performance.

“It kind of set me up for the rest of the inning and the rest of game,” Jungmann said.

“He was throwing his breaking ball for strikes in all counts,” Dizard said. “He just mixed it up really well, keeping them off-balance.”

Lynnwood catcher Brady Girgus’ arm also played a key role in the fourth. Shorewood’s Max Wagner drew a leadoff walk but he was caught stealing by a strong throw from Girgus.

“Not a lot of guys have stolen on him this year,” Dizard said. “That was a huge out. … If that guy is safe, it’s a guy on second with no outs and it’s not looking too good.”

Winning the district title and earning the top seed was significant, according to Whitman.

“We’re not going to be facing higher seeds,” Whitman said. “We’re going to be facing lower seeds. It makes it lot easier going into state.”

The last time Lynnwood played in the state tournament was 2009. The Royals have high expectations this year after going 0-2 in districts in 2014.

“I think we’re ready for the next step,” Jungmann said. “We’ve been talking about state since last season. We felt we could have gone a lot farther than we ended up going.”

Dizard expects the Royals to compete hard next Saturday.

“I think that we can play with anybody in the state,” Dizard said. “I think we have just as good a shot as anyone to win this year.”

– Story and photos by David Pan

The Lynnwood baseball team posts with the District 1 trophy.
The Lynnwood baseball team poses with the District 1 trophy.
Lynnwood pitcher Lucas Jungmann is tackled by his teammates after the final out of Saturday's District championship game.
Lynnwood pitcher Lucas Jungmann is tackled by his teammates after the final out of Saturday’s District championship game.

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