A cold and windy day did not stop the Ballard Beavers from heating up at the plate to score 14 runs as they defeated the Franklin Quakers at Rainier Field last Wednesday.

The final 14-8 outcome gave Ballard its second straight KingCo win. They beat the Roosevelt Roughriders two days earlier.

The win left Ballard with a 2-5 league record and 4-7 overall.

The Beavers exploded in the first inning, scoring six runs on the Quakers. Starting pitcher Nick Palewicz lead the way for Ballard, keeping the Quaker hitters at bay for four innings.

Franklin came back strong against relievers Michael Boyd and Colin Sauer to score eight runs in the last three innings but it was not enough to catch Ballard.

"Our pitching fell apart a little after we took our starter out. Boyd is good, we expect him to come back strong," said Head Coach Kevin Miller.

The Beavers responded with seven runs of their own to put the clamps on Franklin. Ballard had a comfortable lead the entire game and every player on the roster saw action.

"We hit the ball well. The wind was blowing in and it was a little confusing," said Miller.

Outfielder Rashad Childs was 2-2 at the plate, scored two runs and had 4 RBI's. Centerfielder Patrick Murray added 2 RBI and Justen Safadago was 2-3 at bat and scored two runs.

Ballard won it's first league game against Roosevelt in a 4-3 win. Daryle McIntyre earned the win and has a 2-2 record as a pitcher this season.

McIntyre pitched six innings, gave up five hits, and had five strikeouts. Outfielder Stephen Kelsey was 1-2 at bat and scored a run. Andrew Wyman was 2-2 with 3 RBI and a 3 run homer in the fourth inning.

Ballard opened the year with exhibition wins over Evergreen and University Prep. Next came losses to Bellevue and Interlake.

In KingCo play, the Beavers have lost to Garfield, defending state champion Lake Washington, Bothell, Skyline and Redmond.

"We need to be more consistent. When we're playing well and we have confidence, we are a good team. When we start getting back on our heels a little, the wheels fall off a little bit," said Miller.

Ballard has seven games left in the season, starting with the Woodinville Cougars on April 19.

With a playoff spot in sight, Ballard will seek as many wins as it can get with the Cougars, Inglemoor, Garfield, Lake Washington, Bothell, Skyline and Redmond left on the schedule.

Lake Washington and Redmond are in first and second place with identical 6-1 records. They are followed by Bothell, Skyline and Garfield each with 4-3 records, and Ballard coming in last.

The top three teams in KingCo's the division will qualify for the playoffs and Ballard can earn a post season appearance if they can finish ahead of one of the 4-3 teams in the standings.

"Right now there's three teams ahead of us, so the league is wide open. There's a lot of parity and it's within reach," said Miller.

Woodinville, the state champion from 2002 to 2004 is in first place in the Mountain Division with a 5-1 record. Roosevelt at 4-2, Inglemoor at 3-2, Eastlake at 2-4, Juanita at 1-4 and Franklin at 0-6 round out the standings.