Baseball Game Preview: Newport - Bellevue Knights vs. Lake Washington Kangaroos

The Newport - Bellevue Knights will venture away from home to face off against the Lake Washington Kangaroos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Newport - Bellevue took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Issaquah a 6-0 shutout. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Knights as it put an end to their four-game losing streak.

Not much got past Max Higbee, who gave up just six hits to keep Issaquah off the board. Higbee has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.

Derek Zhang

Hits (Career)

04/16/25 vs Issaquah	4
04/14/25 @ Skyline	1
04/07/25 vs Woodinville	1
04/01/25 vs Lake Washington	1
03/14/25 vs Edmonds-Woodway	1

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Derek Zhang, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Patrick Crowley was another key player, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.

Newport - Bellevue always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .529. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Lake Washington posted their closest victory since March 29th on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past North Creek 3-1.

Lake Washington's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Kane Nishikawa, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Newport - Bellevue's record is now 2-13. As for Lake Washington, their record now sits at 9-7.

Newport - Bellevue might still be hurting after the 7-0 loss they got from Lake Washington when the teams last played on April 1st. Can the Knights avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.