Wolves pulling together as win streak reaches 8

It hasn’t been the smoothest ride of a winning streak, but statistics don’t lie either.

The South Kitsap High School baseball team is riding an eight-game winning streak heading into today’s home game against Bremer-ton at 3:45 p.m.

The streak has come with ups and downs, including three games the Wolves committed four, four, and five errors, respectively.

The ups have won out thanks to a collection of hitters starting to make their mark.

The Wolves scored nine and 12 runs, respectively, in wins against Central Kitsap (Friday) and Shelton (Monday), while giving up just two runs.

Flawless defense was accompanied by the stellar pitching of Evan Brumfield against Shelton.

Brumfield, who has established himself as the Wolves No. 2 pitcher, surrendered just three hits and walked none.

Pat Kelly continued to show pop in his bat, normally uncharacteristic for a leadoff hitter.

Kelly belted a three-run home run against CK, and followed with a two-run homer and a two-run double against Shelton.

Aaron Cunningham also hit a two-run double in the rout.

Josh Fullington shut down the Cougars with six scoreless innings.

Chris Anderson went 3-for-4 and Cunningham had a pair of hits to lead the Wolves.

Goodwin was satisfied with his team’s effort.

“We took care of business (against Shelton) and we should take care of business against Bremerton,” Goodwin said. “I couldn’t be happier.”

Goodwin said he’s been blown away by Brumfield’s pitching. The senior has three pitches to choose from, and all have worked well this season.

Brumfield said his fine pitching started last summer.

“I worked pretty hard in the summer, and my summer ball coach had a lot of confidence in me,” Brumfield said. “My fastball isn’t superior. I can’t blow guys away. But my changeup seems to be working pretty good this year, and my curve, too.”

As for being called one of the aces on the pitching staff, Brumfield said it is music to his ears.

“I’ve been hoping for that and working pretty hard for that,” he said. “So that’s a pretty good thing to hear.”

Goodwin said Brumfield’s success has been a combination of throwing great off-speed balls and not walking batters.

“He is very much in command,” Goodwin said. “He’s just been stellar.”

As for the recent power he has seen from hitters such as Kelly and Ryan Marshall, Goodwin said the secret is in the weightroom.

“A lot of our guys lift weights,” he said. “They don’t look strong but they’re strong. You look at them and think ‘how do they do that?’ ”

Goodwin said it’s important SK doesn’t overlook Bremerton because of the upcoming schedule.

SK plays two big road games next week at North Kitsap (Mon-day) and Port Angeles (Wednes-day).

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