Alexander Grand Slam Lifts LW Over Crosstown Rival Juanita, 13-10

’s power-hitting centerfielder Theo Alexander belted a deep grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning Monday night to lift the Kangs to a wild 13-10 baseball victory over the crosstown rival Rebels at Lee Johnson Field in Kirkland.

Batting left-handed and wearing No. 24 -- just like that famous once-upon-a-time Seattle Mariner -- Alexander hit his third home run in four games into the night over right centerfield, some 400 feet.

“Oh, it was a sight to see,” said LW Coach Derek Bingham. “Everybody knew it was gone. It was pretty special.”

The Kangs improved their 3A KingCo League record to 4-0 with the win, 8-2 overall. Juanita dropped to 2-2 and 3-5.

The game was an offensive, back-and-forth battle from the start, Juanita jumping to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning on hits by Avery Britton, Bradley Close and Michael Petter, along with a wild pitch and an error by the Kangs. The Rebs finished the game, which saw five lead changes, with 9 hits to Lake Washington’s 7.

Lake Washington came back in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer to right field by Zach Johnson, then added five runs in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch, a two-run double by Victor Mayorquin and a two-run single by Alac Wong.

“We let them get ahead with a couple errors, but I was impressed that we responded,” said Bingham. “Immediately we scored two runs. I wasn’t really disappointed with anything.”

Down 8-5, Juanita added five more in the top of the fifth inning as LW starter Nick Johnson began to tire, giving up two walks, singles by Andy Cosgrove and John Robinson and a double by Britton.

“The game could have gone either way,” Bingham said. “Juanita has been playing well. They’re a young team with a lot of confidence. We gave them some opportunities and they took advantage of them. I was impressed.”

Apparently pitching around Alexander by walking him twice with runners on, Juanita had no choice in the bottom of the fifth, with the bases loaded after a walk, a hit batter and singles by Shawn Gray, Jeremy Parkhurst and Jordan LaFave.

Alexander stepped up, took a ball low and then lifted an inside fastball over the fence. The LW crowd went nuts and Alexander’s teammates mobbed him after he rounded the bases and approached the dugout (see the attached video).

“He’s having a great year. He’s a special talent,” said Bingham of his slugger. “Teams aren’t going to pitch to him. But I haven’t seen him take a bad swing (in several games). He’s really been disciplined.”

Juanita showed some power at the plate as well. Britton finished the night with two hits in four at-bats, including the double, and three runs batted in. Sean Brennan finished 2-3 with two RBIs. Cosgrove and Robinson had two hits each, and Close finished 2-4, with two RBIs. Conner Rusch hit a triple.

Alexander finished 1-3 at the plate with the four RBIs, Zach Johnson 2-4 with his two RBIs, while Mayorquin went 1-3 with three RBIs.

Lake Washington next faces Interlake Wednesday at the Bellevue school, 4 p.m., before taking on powerful Mount Si Friday night at Lee Johnson Field, 7 p.m. Juanita plays Bellevue Wednesday at Lee Johnson Field, 4 p.m., then Interlake Friday at the same place, 4 p.m.