By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle battled back to beat close rival Chief Sealth by a 5-2 score at the Southwest Athletic Complex baseball field Monday afternoon.

The Wildcats, who trailed by a 1-0 score going into the third inning, ran their record to 10-9 with the win going into their regular season finale scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday against Seattle Prep at Hiawatha.
West Seattle has already cemented its postseason position and will open the Metro League playoffs at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, May 7 at Hiawatha. That is a loser-out game, as would be a 6 p.m. game against Roosevelt the next day at the SWAC.
"If we survive those, then we're in the double-elimination part of the tournament," said Wildcats head coach Velko Vitalich.

Chief Sealth fell to 3-16 with Monday's close loss and will wrap up its season at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday against Cleveland on the Rainier Beach field.
"We've lost a lot of games like that, seven or eight, that were one or two runs," said Seahawks head coach Ernest Policarpio. "Errors have been our worst enemy."

Errors were a problem again Monday as two paid off in two West Seattle runs to break a 2-2 tie in the fifth.
Stephen Skvarla started off the inning with a single, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He scored on an overthrow of first base that landed runner Daniel Kemp at third base. Kemp scored on an errant pickoff.

Three fly outs followed, but West Seattle tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on back-to-back doubles with two out.

Alex Pastrana doubled to right center, then Anthony Coats launched an RBI double into deep left center to make it 5-2.

A double play then got West Seattle out of a first and second with one out jam in the sixth, before starting and winning pitcher Jordan Sagmoen put down the Seahawks in order in the bottom of the seventh.
"Jordan pitched a very, very strong game for us," Vitalich said. "He settled down after they got to him a little bit early."

Chief Sealth opened the scoring with one in the bottom of the second as David Johnson tripled and scored on a base hit by Evan Moe.

West Seattle answered with a pair of runs in the top of the third.
Kemp walked and stole second, then went to third on a two-out single up the middle by Sam Cook.
A wild pitch scored Kemp before Morgan McCullough tripled to left for one RBI, bouncing a hard line drive off the ground and over the left fielder.

The Seahawks tied it up again in the bottom of the inning.

Stevie Olinger singled, stole second, went to third on a base hit by Jackson Chilcott and scored as Isaac Hamilton hit into an error.
That set the stage for West Seattle to win it in the end.