It's easy to get caught up in the hype around good match-ups, but in reality when it's this early in the season excitement for pitching duels should be tempered. We touched on Jake Cave vs. Deshorn Lake last week, but the latest intriguing game comes out of Washington where Redmond High went against Bellevue's Newport High Monday night.

Two of the top righthanders in the state got the ball to start, but both struggled with their control. Dylan Davis, an Oregon State signee, went just three innings as he reached 80 pitches. He struck out four and gave up three runs on one hit, but walked seven.

"His stuff looked pretty good," Redmond head coach Dan Pudwill said. "His curveball has great bite to it. We just need to make sure he can throw it for strikes."

Newport threw their No. 2 in Jared Fisher. Head coach Hal DeBerry said righthander Cole Wiper, the No. 1 starter, will likely get Redmond the second time around in April. Fisher went five innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He walked six and struck out five.

"No runs were really scored in a traditional manner," Pudwill said. "Newport had two hits. We had four. We walked nine total and I think they walked seven."

Newport did indeed walk seven as Billy Sahlinger pitched one inning of relief in which he struck out two and walked one. Zach Abbruzza, a Gonzaga signee, was 1-for-3 for Remond with two runs scored as he continues his torrid start. In eight games, Abbruzza is batting .667 with 23 RBIs. Nine of his 16 have gone for for extra bases.

Fisher was also Newport's man at the plate, going 1-for-2 with an RBI and run scored. Wiper collected Newport's only other hit and run.

About 20 scouts braved the cold to see the game, but came away frustrated. Davis was up to 94 mph with is fastball but consistently sat 91-93, though control was obviously an issue.

"Dylan's got good stuff," one scout said. "He's got the best arsenal of three or four pitches. He's throwing a curveball now and it's hard. It's got a chance to be a plus pitch. But the huge question with him—the stuff is good enough—but is he going to throw enough strikes? He's shown a consistent pattern that that's not the case right now. He's got boring life and good arm action, but he's so slow and painfully deliberate in his paint-by-numbers delivery and he lands on his back heel and just spins out."

Fisher, a Washington signee, was 86-89 with his fastball. Redmond's Michael Conforto didn't get much to hit as he drew three walks in three at-bats.

Around The Nation
• Here are the scores from the first day of the Big League Dugout Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz.:

Spanish Fork (Utah) HS 11, Montclair Prep, Van Nuys, Calif. 3
South HS, Downers Grove, Ill. 9, Brighton (Colo.) HS 1
Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas 4, Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz. 3
Horizon HS, Scottsdale, Ariz. 10, Forsyth Country Day School, Lewisville, N.C.  2
Chaparral HS, Scottsdale, Ariz. 10, Columbine HS, Littleton, Colo. 1
Corona Del Sol HS, Tempea, Ariz. 5, Libertyville (Ill.) HS 4
Regis Jesuit HS, Aurora, Colo. 10, Harvard-Westlake School, Los Angeles 1
Brophy College Prep, Phoenix 8, La Jolla (Calif.) Country Day School 1

• Mountain Pointe High (Phoenix) catcher Kevin Cron hit two home runs last Friday, giving him 45 in his career, an Arizona state record.

• Rancho High (Las Vegas) third baseman Kevin Kline went 3-for-3 last Thursday with 11 RBIs, a Nevada state record for a single game. He hit a sacrifice fly in his first at-bat, three-run home runs in his second and third, and capped his day with a grand slam in his fourth at-bat.
 

Contributing: Conor Glassey