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The Issaquah Press

�Section

B WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

By Sarah Gerdes

During the annual Red Cross Heroes awards March 27, Todd Short humbly accepted the Medi-cal Rescue Award, for saving the life of Issaquah resident Don Trombly.

As Short graciously accepted the award from Craig Hendrick-son, CEO of Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Trombly nodded.

“He’s our guardian angel,” Dixie Trombly, Don’s wife of 50 years, said of Short, her eyes well-ing up with tears.

Just a regular dayDon and Dixie Trombly have

lived in Issaquah for 60 years, visiting Redmond once a week to stop by the Great Harvest Bread Co., relax and let their dog roam free in a park. While they were in their car, Dixie noticed her hus-band suddenly exhaled.

“He gave one huff of air, then one more, and I thought that was it,” Dixie Trombly said. “He’s just died in my car.”

She saw a man in his parked truck beside her, so she rolled down the window and shouted for help. The man, Greg Gorske, a regular at Great Harvest, dropped what he was eating, peered in the window and ran into the store to get the address.

Short, an off-duty EMT and firefighter in Redmond, happened to be in line inside the store. He sensed the urgency of the situa-

tion, and followed Gorske outside. It took both men to remove Don from the vehicle and onto the ground. Short provided CPR until Don came around.

Another 50 yearsDixie said her life would be over

without her husband by her side. “I don’t know what I’d do if he

were to have left me,” she said, tearing up as she recounted the story.

“Every day, I thank God that my guardian angel was there to save Don,” Dixie said, reaching her hand out for Todd. “That’s what I call him. Our guardian angel.”

Don later had triple-bypass surgery, and today is back to his routines.

Short is humble about his role in the affair, saying he “didn’t do anything another person wouldn’t have done.”

When it was his turn at the podium, Don said simply, “Thank you. I’m glad to be here.”

The couple will never forget the kindness of complete strang-ers, and the vital role Gorske and Short played in their lives.

“How can we forget them?” Dixie asked. “I want another 50 years with Don, and we’ll be thinking of Todd and Greg the entire time.”

Sarah Gerdes is a freelance writer. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Local man’s rescuer is named Red Cross hero

BY SARAH GERDES

Dixie Trombly and Don Trombly (from left) are thankful for Greg Gorske and Todd Short, who saved Don’s life. Short received the Medical Rescue Award from the American Red Cross on March 27.

Brian Gordon raved about the men in rave green.

The Issaquah resident spent part of an afternoon kicking a soccer ball with a bunch of new friends — the 2012 Seattle Sounders.

Gordon earned the honor by winning the Man of the Match promotion of the Washington State Lottery, which allowed one person and his family to suit up and practice with the Major League Soccer’s Seattle franchise.

On March 20, the dream of many a fan became true for Gor-don, who traveled to the Sound-ers’ practice facility in Tukwila and got to share a soccer pitch with people like David Estrada, Michael Gspurning and Roger Levesque, all Sounder players.

“The fact that I got to take shots with Estrada and Levesque, well, it was beyond what I expected,”

Gordon said in a press release. “We had such a blast. This was such a great opportunity.”

Gspurning, the Sounders’ goal-keeper, signed a pair of gloves for Gordon to take home. The team also gave Gordon custom Sounder jerseys.

The Man of the Match pro-motion was the first of its kind between a state lottery and an MLS franchise. Sounder fans par-ticipated last season by attending matches and picking a player they thought would be named Man of the Match, said Britta Gidican, a spokeswoman for the Washington Lottery.

Participation for the promotion was so high that it’s coming back this season, with prizes like an all-access pass, a sideline seat and a photographer’s press pass at stake. It’s the latter one that Gordon hopes to win this year, Gidican said.

PHOTOS BY GREG FARRAR

Brian Gordon (right), of Issaquah, holds his new pair of autographed goalkeeper gloves after a scrimmage with (from left) Sounders FC forward Roger Levesque, keeper Michael Gspurning and forward David Estrada March 20 at the Starfire Sports center in Tukwila.

Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon supporters raised almost $10,000 last month to protect the disappearing fish species.

Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery and Coho Café orga-nized a March 16 fundraiser to net dollars for a kokanee restora-tion program.

The sold-out event raised funds from ticket sales for a reception at the Watershed Science Center on the hatchery grounds and a silent wine auction benefit.

Matt Baerwalde, a Snoqualmie Nation representative, presented a $5,000 check to FISH Execu-tive Director Jane Kuechle for the kokanee spawning program.

In the program, experts deploy along creek banks throughout the season to collect fish in creeks near the lake and spawn the salmon at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. Then, hatchery employ-ees and FISH members spawn the fish and tend to the eggs until tiny fry can be released into local creeks.

The kokanee program includes

the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, King County and the state Depart-ment of Fish and Wildlife. Despite the broad participation, the pro-gram — considered as a stopgap measure for kokanee survival — operates on a limited budget.

The local Trout Unlimited chap-ter is another important partici-pant in the effort.

In recent years, the number of salmon in the late-fall and early-winter run has dwindled to fewer than 1,000 in some seasons. The fish return to only a handful of creeks — Ebright, Laughing Ja-cobs and Lewis — to spawn.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials declined last year to list the species as endangered. The agency determined the Lake Sammamish kokanee population did not meet the definition of a “listable entity” under the “dis-tinct population segment” policy.

The once-abundant kokanee de-clined in recent decades, perhaps due to construction near creeks, increased predators, disease or changes in water quality.

By Warren KagariseIssaquah Press reporter

The effort to link the High Point Trail to Duthie Hill Park on the Sammamish Plateau consumed almost a decade and more than 40,000 hours from Washington Trails Association volunteers.

The public is invited to join King County Parks and the Wash-ington Trails Association on April 5 to celebrate the yearslong push to complete the trail connection. Citizens can join a hike through Grand Ridge Park and a barbe-cue at Duthie Hill Park.

Participants can hike through cedars and ferns, cross the log bridges and boardwalk built by volunteers, and peer into a hemlock bog. The hike concludes at Duthie Hill Park, a popular

destination for mountain bikers.“It is not an understatement

to say that this magnificent new public amenity would not ex-ist without the overwhelming

dedication and support from WTA’s volunteers,” King County Parks Director Kevin Brown said. “Their work on this project lasted for a decade, but the legacy of their accomplishment will last for many decades to come.”

The nonprofit trails group conducted 448 volunteer events in Grand Ridge Park. Overall, 1,516 volunteers contributed more than 40,000 hours to build a seven-mile trail, a 40-foot-long log bridge, shorter log bridges and the 600-foot boardwalk, or puncheon bridge.

The construction teams used cedar planks fashioned from downed timber to create the deck-ing. Many trees used for lumber in the project fell in windstorms on King County parkland. Then, volunteers milled the lumber in the forest alongside the trail.

The boardwalk carries hikers, mountain bikers and equestrian riders across the bog — a source of headwaters to salmon-bearing Canyon Creek and the East Fork of Issaquah Creek.

“Volunteers play a critical role in enhancing our frontcountry trails,” Washington Trails Asso-ciation Executive Director Karen Daubert said. “Generations of local hikers have pitched in to build the Grand Ridge Trail over the years, and that volunteer investment has helped strengthen the local communities that use these trails. WTA is honored to have been King County’s partner on Grand Ridge.”

Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or [email protected]. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Join hike, barbecue to celebrate Grand Ridge Park milestone

IF YOU GOGrand Ridge Park Trail celebra-tion4April 54Participants can gather at Central Park in the Issaquah Highlands at 9 a.m. to start the hike. Participants then hike to Duthie Hill Park for a free barbe-cue from 12:30-2 p.m.4Contact David Kimmett at 206-263-7159 or [email protected] for more informa-tion about the hike and barbecue.

Kokanee fundraiser nets almost $10,000 for preservation

Memorial Day seems a long way off, but it will be here before you know it. This year, The Issaquah Press will print its third annual vet-erans section — Lest We Forget.

We want your photos and infor-mation, veterans. If someone in your family was a veteran, but he or she has passed away, we still want to include him or her. It is

important for us to honor and re-member all local veterans, living or deceased.

If you have already sent your photo and information to us, you don’t need to do so again. We keep them on file.

Fill out your form at www.issa-quahpress.com and email your photo to [email protected].

Send your veterans photos for memorial section

Above, David Estrada, Sounders FC forward (left), takes a shot at the net as Brian Gordon tends the net. At left, Sounders FC soccer players and winners pose with a signed soccer ball, gift scarves and gift jerseys, after enjoying the grand-prize, half-hour scrimmage practice. Participants are (from right) winner Gordon, goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, forward Estrada, Gordon’s daughter Rachel Solem, 14, Gordon’s employer Paul Algate and forward Roger Levesque.

Kickin’ it with new friends

Issaquah man laces ‘em up with Sounders

B1

By Matthew CarstensIssaquah Press reporter

“Strike three!” yelled the umpire on a questionable pitch that was closer to the dirt than the strike zone.

Groans could be heard from the Issaquah High School dugout after the questionable call. The intensi-ty of the Issaquah-Skyline rivalry could be felt with every pitch as both teams struggled to score runs early in the game March 28.

As the sky opened up and the rain started falling, the umpire tried to get the game moving.

“I don’t see a catcher out here,” he hollered toward the Issaquah dugout.

“I don’t see an umpire calling the game out there,” Issaquah head coach Jim Magnuson yelled back.

After a good laugh between the two, the rest of the game, albeit a short one, got under way.

After Skyline took a two-run

lead on an RBI triple by Madisen Camp-Chimenti, starting pitcher Meagan Burris struggled with her command and several walks led to a three-run inning for Issaquah. After that, the game was called due to unplayable conditions and Skyline fell to Issaquah, 3-2.

“I really truly in my heart believe that they didn’t beat us,” Skyline head coach Alison Mitchell said. “We let them beat us. We beat our-selves. When we had that two-run lead, you could tell the frustration was on their faces. They weren’t expecting us to do that.”

Skyline has a very young group of players this year with no se-niors on the team. Mitchell said she worries about the state of softball in the area and he thinks the sport’s popularity has declined in recent years.

“Softball’s dying,” she said.

“We all used to have varsity and junior varsity programs. We had lots of kids that came out, we had lots of support and for what-ever reason right now, whether

it’s kids playing club soccer or lacrosse or whatever it is, we’re all only able to field one team. This year, I only had 14 kids total tryout, out of 2,000 in the school.

“We’re all pretty concerned about what’s going to happen, if we’re even going to have a program.”

Despite the doom and gloom, the girls that have showed up are ready to fill the big holes left by the seniors that graduated last year.

“I graduated three seniors last year,” Mitchell said. “Two of them were definitely really big losses. Anya Kamber was my starting third basemen — she’s playing at Brandeis University now in Boston. Lindsey Nicholson, my shortstop, is now playing at Boise State, and both of them were just absolutely rock solid on the field and they were my big hitters.

Lindsey got co-MVP for KingCo as the offensive player with a .670-something batting average. She pretty much led all of KingCo with her hits,” she added. “I’m looking for that kid again this year. You can’t match what she did because she worked really hard for it, but I just need consis-tency from my players because we

need to find that offensive threat.”Even though the holes seem big,

Mitchell said she is confident her newcomers have what it takes.

“I have a couple freshman that came in I’m really excited about their future,” Mitchell said. “We have some potential with some younger kids — they just have some really, really large shoes to fill.”

Riding the hot handIf there’s one thing Issaquah’s

head coach could have on his fast-pitch team, it’s a lights-out pitcher. Lucky for him, he’s got one.

“I would say we should be in the top two in our division with Brielle (Bray), because she’s just lights out,” Magnuson said. “She was a little off the other day, but she’s going to keep us in every game.”

Besides being a power pitcher, Bray has a weapon that is rare among high school pitchers

SPORTSs s

The Issaquah Press

�Wednesday, April 4, 2012Page B4

B4

By Michael PayantLiberty High School

New, stricter bat regulations are forcing producers to make less powerful bats and will greatly affect gameplay on both the col-lege and high school levels.

The regulations require BBCOR bats, short for Batted-Ball Coef-ficient of Restitution. Though the bats are still aluminum, they are less “springy” and will hit more like wood bats. Permissible bats will feature a BBCOR-certified sticker.

A major problem with the old BESR (ball-exit-speed-ratio) bats was that they would become too powerful once broken in. As fibers within the bats repeatedly came into contact with baseballs, they would break down, become more flexible and surpass levels deemed safe.

“Back in the early days, the best it was going to be was right when you took it out of the wrap-per,” Issaquah High School head baseball coach Rob Reese said. “Recently, bats would get more powerful after use.”

Rule makers hope the change, mandatory last year in college, will produce lower-scoring games and lessen injury risk. The Na-tional Federation of State High School Associations announced in 2009 that the change would be mandatory starting Jan. 1, 2012. California high schools began using BBCOR bats last spring and scoring was down.

“We want the game to be fair,” federation Baseball Rules Editor Elliot Hopkins said. “We want young people to use their talent to hit rather than exploiting the

technology.”Division 1 college baseball sta-

tistics show the “power surge” re-sponsible for the change. Homeruns rose from .68 per game in 2007 to .96 per game in 2009. Runs were up from 6.1 in 2007 to 6.98 in 2010. The numbers were a product of powerful bats and increasingly stronger players, but they substan-tially declined last year with the implementation of BBCOR bats.

The decrease in bat power has some players considering a shift to wood bats. The price dispar-ity between wood composite and

BBCOR bats is another factor in the decision. Wood bats are likelier to break but cost between $60 and $99. New BBCOR bats cost any-where from $50 to $400, a price that the players will have to cover.

Liberty High School senior Blake Reeve is considering a wood composite bat rather than switch-ing to a BBCOR bat. Primarily a pitcher, Reeve said he looks for-ward to the changes BBCOR bats will bring.

“I’m pretty excited,” Reeve said. “A lot of people just go up there hacking. If you try to lift the ball

with a BBCOR bat, you’ll just fly out every time.”

A drop in offense is expected, but there is debate over whether BBCOR bats will decrease injury risk.

Hard-hit balls will give fielders slightly more reaction time. How-ever, gameplay changes calling for increased emphasis on small-ball and base-running aggression could cause more close plays and increase potential for collision injuries.

New rule, bats expected to lower scores, reduce injuries

By Lillian TuckerIssaquah Press reporter

If Sammamish was only allotted one sunny afternoon last week, March 26 was the perfect pick as plateau baseball fans gathered in the sunshine to watch the Skyline High School Spartans edge out the Eastlake High School Wolves, 4-3.

Both teams entered the contest having been successful so far in the beginning of what looks like to be a solid season of league play.

Playing “4A KingCo in any sport is tough, but especially in baseball. There is no game you go into thinking, ‘We have the advantage,’” Skyline coach Chris Tamminen said. “A lot of the teams are right there with each other. Each game is going to be a battle. It’s going to come down to who can play in the clutch.”

The Spartans led 3-0 most of

the game by grabbing a run in the second, third and fourth innings.

“Our motto is to play a hard seven no matter what the score is,” Tamminen said. “We have a good bench. The kids do a good job as far staying in the game and helping out on the field and com-ing in when they have to.”

For the Spartans, Brandon Fischer went 2 for 4 with a double and a run; Jack Valencia hit 2 for 3 and scored one run; Patrick Harrod batted 1 for 4 with a double and one RBI; Matt Sinatro hit 1 for 3 with an RBI; and Clayton Huber, who pitched the majority of the game for the Spartans, struck out six of the 24 batters he faced and hit 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

“Skyline kept hitting the ball and they played a good game,” Eastlake catcher Casey Fithian said. “We were definitely in it

to fight, but we got off to a slow start … We were thinking too much of our own performance at bat and not as a team.”

The catcher is a member of the Wolves’ senior leadership for the team and said that as the game wore on he and the other older players talked to the boys about getting fired up.

Then in the top of the seventh inning, they did. Eastlake scored its first run of the game and had two on base, waiting for the chance to cross home plate. The Wolves’ dugout got louder as they watched their players use the Skyline pitcher’s balks to their advantage and racked up two more runs.

When all was said and done, Eastlake’s Mick Vorhoff batted 3

BY LILLIAN TUCKER

Brandon Fischer, Skyline High School senior, heads home as the bench cheers the game-ending run on a team-mate’s single during the seventh inning for a 4-3 victory March 26 against Eastlake.

By Christina LordsIssaquah Press reporter

After dropping games against Hazen, Redmond, Mount Si and Bellevue high schools to open the Liberty boys soccer season, the Patriots knew they were due for a win.

With two halves played and less than a minute to go in a double overtime matchup March

27 at Sammamish High School, it looked like the Patriots might have to settle for the tie.

Not on sophomore midfielder Colton Ronk’s watch.

With seconds to spare, Ronk knocked in an unassisted goal — his first this year — and gave Liberty its first win this season.

“We deserved this,” he said. “It feels really great to finally get a win. We have to continue to work

really hard in practice and finish well in games.”

Liberty’s junior goalkeeper Nate Mak achieved his first shutout of the season by squashing several attempted offensive strikes from the Totems, who already scored 11 goals in their first three games of the season.

BY GREG FARRAR

Colton Ronk (23), Liberty High School sophomore midfielder, has the ball pop between his legs in front of him, at the same time he splits between Sammamish High School forwards Tommy Danielsen (left) and Miguel Hernandez. Using the confusion in the next seconds, Ronk scored the double-overtime goal for the 1-0 win.

See BATS, Page B5

Patriots get in the win column with back-to-back victories

Spartans take Eastlake 4-3 in plateau baseball matchup

See SOCCER, Page B5 See BASEBALL, Page B5

SOFTBALL PREVIEW�Youth must rise from limited talent pool in Skyline’s softball program

See SOFTBALL, Page B5

BY GREG FARRAR

Shannon Heneghan, Issaquah High School senior, is safe stealing home on a wild pitch as Skyline High School sophomore catcher Erika Wolfe returns with the ball to attempt the tag during the fourth inning. Issaquah won the rain-shortened game, 3-2.