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By Christopher Huber
The only close call Laura Bachman has had in her job with the Seattle Mariners was on opening day at Safeco Field April 14 — her first game on the field as a ball girl.
It was the 10th inning and the Mariners and Angels were tied 2-2. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt laid down a bunt toward third base and Angels’ relief pitcher Scot Shields threw the ball wide past first, nearly hitting Bachman at her post along the wall.
The right fielder tried to argue that she interfered, Bachman said, but the game was already over.
Betancourt drove in Franklin Gutierrez to win the game 3-2 for the Mariners.
That was the only legitimate action she saw all game.
“On the first day I didn’t get any foul balls,” she said.
Bachman, a recent Eastlake High School graduate, is one of 11 ball girls on staff with the Mariners organization in 2009.
She works most home games, alternating between on-field duty and various other jobs around the park, including collecting tickets.
Though she spends most of her shifts being on alert for a stray ground ball.
“It’s really cool because the players talk to you sometimes. The opposing teams talk to you a lot,” Bachman said about being on the field with famous players. “It’s really cool walking right next to Ken Griffey Jr. or Endy Chavez.”
She was hired for the rare job after Eastlake head softball coach Al Leaverenz recommended her to the Mariners.
Bachman completed tryouts and a lengthy application and interview process before ever donning a Mariners uniform, she said.
“I love watching baseball and I love the Mariners, and I thought it would be really cool to be on the field,” she said.
Ball girls are part of the team’s fielder program, which takes about 30 applications per year from area high school and college softball players, said Garrett Cook, event services manager.
“Laura is one of the younger ones that made it,” he said.
They don’t just look for strong fielding skills, Cook said, but the girls must have solid customer service skills, as well.
When they’re not fielding ground balls on the field, the girls are interacting with the fans in many capacities around Safeco Field.
Bachman and Cook said the Mariners stress having the best ball girls in the majors.
“If you’re going to do something, you might as well be the best at it,” Cook said. I like watching the girls on the field make a good play and then they show it on ESPN or Fox.”
Eastlake fielded four ball girls in 2008, so Mariners officials knew she came from a top-notch softball program, said Cook.
“We’ve had a lot of success from that program,” Cook said.
Bachman said the most challenging part of being a ball girl is anticipating the ball.
“It’s all really fun, but it really is really nerve-wracking sitting on the stool, waiting for the ball to come. It’s really scary just sitting there,” she said. “Ichiro tends to hit a lot of foul balls so I want to stay on my toes when he’s up.”
Other than hanging out with pro baseball players, Bachman said she enjoys the fan interaction, as well.
She’s had to field some hard ground balls in the first half of the season.
While most are routine, one turned into an error.
“You kind of just stick your glove down and pray you get it,” Bachman said. “I haven’t got any really hard ones. I’ve only made one error; it was bad. It was funny.”
Bachman will work at home games this summer until she leaves in the fall to start college at Ohio University.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
The only close call Laura Bachman has had in her job with the Seattle Mariners was on opening day at Safeco Field April 14 — her first game on the field as a ball girl.
It was the 10th inning and the Mariners and Angels were tied 2-2. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt laid down a bunt toward third base and Angels’ relief pitcher Scot Shields threw the ball wide past first, nearly hitting Bachman at her post along the wall.
The right fielder tried to argue that she interfered, Bachman said, but the game was already over.
One of the perks of being a ball girl, Laura Bachman gets her own baseball card. Courtesy Seattle Mariners
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By Christopher Huber
Sammamish golfer Jordan Windsor wasn’t satisfied with the way he drove the ball June 24 at West Seattle Golf Course. But he executed enough decisive putts throughout the 18-hole Junior World Championship qualifier to help him tie for third in the 16-17 age group with a 75-stroke finish on the par-72 course.
“It’s definitely on the better side of what I’ve played,” he said after the match.
On the par-5 fourth hole, Windsor sunk a 40-foot putt for birdie, he said. Though he did attribute some of his setbacks to numerous 2-putt holes.
“It’s mostly putting that got me,” he said. “(But) it was just putting that saved the round.”
Windsor and fellow Sammamish resident Li Wang each advanced to the next round of the Junior World qualifier tournaments. They will play July 1 in Tumwater for a chance to play in the championship in San Diego.
In addition to being a step, for some, toward the Junior World tournament, the June 24 match at West Seattle also served as the qualifier for the Washington Junior Golf Association District 2 Championship, which will be held July 20-21 at Willows Run Golf Course.
Wang barely made the cut for the next round of Junior World qualifying. He shot a 77 and waited nervously near the score booth to learn if he would make the eighth spot. By the time his opponents finished the round, he had made the cut for Tumwater via tiebreaker.
“I usually shoot under,” he said. “My swing got off a little bit.”
Wang’s 77 also earned him third place in the 14-15 age group in his quest to make the district championship.
In the 16-17 age group, Jack Quinton and Alex Taylor, both of Sammamish, missed the cut for both tournaments, but shot 86 and 89 respectively. Andy Zweig finished with 99 strokes and Cutter Boit shot a 104.
Sammamish youth Jack Strickland and Christopher Kobak barely missed the cut for the district championship, shooting an 82 and 83 respectively.
Kobak was just three-over going into hole No. 9. That’s where he putted for eagle and went to just one-over-par on the front nine. He hit plus-11 on the back nine.
“It was kind of just a bad break on the back nine,” Kobak said after the 18th hole. “I hit some good shots out there but it just wasn’t working out for me.”
In the boys 12-13 category, Brian Mogg, of Sammamish, qualified for the district tournament with a third-place, 80-stroke finish. Robert McCoy finished with a 98, Logan Nash and Colin Boit shot 107 and 105 respectively. Eastlake High School golfers Dana Mydland and Tera Stenhouse missed the cut in the girls 16-17 group, shooting a 90 and 98 respectively.
Mersadie Tallman, of Issaquah, placed third in the girls’ 12-13 match. Her 101-stroke finish was good enough to move on to the district championship at Willows Run.
The Tumwater Junior Worlds qualifier will feature 54 youth golfers competing for the top four spots. They will play at Junior Worlds in San Diego later this month.
The WJGA State Championship runs July 29-31.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Sammamish golfer Jordan Windsor wasn’t satisfied with the way he drove the ball June 24 at West Seattle Golf Course. But he executed enough decisive putts throughout the 18-hole Junior World Championship qualifier to help him tie for third in the 16-17 age group with a 75-stroke finish on the par-72 course.
“It’s definitely on the better side of what I’ve played,” he said after the match.
Mersadie Tallman, 12, of Issaquah, tees off on the 10th hole June 24. Photo by Christopher Huber
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New June 29, 2:08 p.m.
About 100 voters had their first glimpse of the King County Executive candidates at a forum June 25 at Twin Falls Middle School in North Bend.
The questions ranged from transportation and land use issues to concerns over a recent state audit of the county’s construction projects management.
All six major candidates participated in the event: King County Councilmen Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips, former TV news anchor Susan Hutchinson, State Senator Fred Jarrett, State Representative Ross Hunter, and engineer and businessman Alan Lobdell. Read more
New June 28, 10:40 a.m.
Ken Konigsmark wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s perfect, but in politics you have to compromise sometimes.
Konigsmark, a resident of rural King County between Issaquah and Preston, has followed the evolution of a county proposal to protect roughly 150,000 acres of county-owned lands, including some next to Sammamish.
“I know the risk that faces these lands based on the political whims that come and go,” Konigsmark said. “It takes something stronger than trusting the political system to protect these lands.” Read more
New June 27, 1:39 p.m.
When Margaret Rosenow bought her single-family home with her husband Gary in 1980, the house was worth about $170,000.
Like many families in Sammamish, the Rosenows have seen their home increase in value over the years, but that trend halted this summer. Now Sammamish homeowners, like residents all across the county, have seen their properties dip in value.
Between 2007 and 2009, the Rosenows’ property jumped in value $147,000, or about 26 percent. But the 2010 assessment was a more sobering change: in a single year, the Rosenows’ property lost about 16 percent of its value. Read more
New June 26, 3:38 p.m.
Considering the dismal state of education funding in Washington, the mood was about as upbeat as it could be when Lake Washington School District officials presented the School Board with a proposed $216.7 million budget June 22.
As a result of state funding cuts and the general economic decline, the district is wrestling with a gaping $7.7 million budget hole. Read more
New: June 25, 10:05 a.m.
Add one more road project to the list of major construction in the Sammamish area this summer. The city of Issaquah is installing a roundabout at the intersection of East Lake Sammamish Parkway and Southeast 43rd Way, a major gateway to Sammamish.
Bob Brock, Issaquah’s public works engineering director, said the $1.4 million project will add a two-lane roundabout with three access points, sidewalks and a bypass lane for motorists going south on East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
The roundabout will eliminate the traffic light at East Lake Sammamish Parkway and 43rd Street. Graphic courtesy city of Issaquah
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Updated June 24, 12:33 p.m..
Paul Weston pointed to a purple dot, about the size of dime, on the crook of his right arm — it was the only sign on his entire body that he had just crashed a plane into Lake Sammamish.
“I’m just thanking the lord that everything turned out fine,” Weston said.
The 83-year-old Redmond resident was testing out a seaplane he designed when he came in at angle, dipping the left wing into the water, and crashed at 10:45 a.m. June 24. The flight lasted about five minutes, starting with an eastward takeoff that ended as Weston circled back around and tried to land. The plane hit the water about 300 yards from Vasa Park in Bellevue.
Paul Weston, of Redmond, an experimental float plane pilot, talks on his phone at a Vasa Park boat launch ramp after a safe but ungraceful landing June 24 in waters off the park on Lake Sammamish. Photo by Greg Farrar
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Review editorial
Rescue boat for EFR
is an easy choice
When we learned that Eastside Fire and Rescue staff wanted funding for a boat, our first thought was, ‘they don’t have one already?’
The purchase of a rescue boat, so that firefighters can help people caught in the raging waters, should be a priority, not a matter of debate. EFR’s coverage area is crisscrossed with fast flowing rivers, streams and deep lakes, both of which are prone to flooding more often than not.
Right now, firefighters use a boogie board (a boogie board!) or a tossed life preserver to rescue people stranded in icy water. Lord help us all if they need to break out the water wings.
Even in tight budget times, there are some costs that are necessary; need-to-have items, not want-to-have items. The boat falls into the former category.
To make the decision even easier, EFR officials have hinted that a 14-foot inflatable raft might be donated.
EFR tax collections would surely be able to cover maintenance costs and staff training time on a donated piece of life-saving equipment.
This isn’t to say that all of the boats EFR officials are considering are necessary right now. While a raft to use in rescue situations is necessary, the discussed fleet of up to three larger watercraft is probably too much.
EFR officials recognize this, and, quite responsibly, are asking for the smallest, cheapest piece of equipment that can do the job.
We understand some members of the EFR Board of Directors are hesitant to purchase much of anything in this economic climate. Their fiscal prudence serves everyone. But the idea of continuing the past practice of borrowing a citizen’s boat as needed falls apart rather easily – let’s hope he’s not on vacation during the next emergency.
The boat is not a toy officials want so they can be like the cool fire departments in the region. It is a critical piece of equipment that is part of the standard compliment at fire departments around the country which have anything larger that a puddle in their response area.
Sooner or later, it will save someone’s life, making the cost of training a moot point.
When we learned that Eastside Fire and Rescue staff wanted funding for a boat, our first thought was, ‘they don’t have one already?’
The purchase of a rescue boat, so that firefighters can help people caught in the raging waters, should be a priority, not a matter of debate. EFR’s coverage area is crisscrossed with fast flowing rivers, streams and deep lakes, both of which are prone to flooding more often than not.
Right now, firefighters use a boogie board (a boogie board!) or a tossed life preserver to rescue people stranded in icy water. Lord help us all if they need to break out the water wings. Read more
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