RICHLAND -- In the eyes of the rest of the state, the Kamiakin Braves haven't won anything yet.
But to the Mid-Columbia baseball world, the Braves can lay claim to one title: King of the Ring.
That's because, in the heavyweight prize fight that was the CBBN 3A, Kamiakin is the last one standing.
Bryce Drury threw a three-hit shutout and Drew Oord plated the game's only run on a sacrifice fly as Kamiakin topped Hanford 1-0 on Saturday evening in the state quarterfinals at Bomber Field.
"That was amazing," said Drury, who pitched seven innings for the first time this season. "We've talked about this since we were freshmen. This group of guys has been together since we were 9 years old."
And now they are headed to the state's final four at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. The Braves (22-5) face Mount Si (22-3) at 1 p.m. Friday, with Shorewood and Camas playing in the other semifinal.
Kamiakin reached the quarterfinals in 2007 and '08 but came up short. This is the Braves' first trip to the semifinals since 1998, when they placed fourth.
"To come out of the Big Nine and be the one that guts it out, that's a huge compliment," said Kamiakin coach Ryan Carter, referring to a league that contained five of the state's best 3A teams. "Playing in our league is tough, and you have to be."
They showed it Saturday.
First came a morning win over Southridge, 11-4, behind Garrett Anderson's complete game on the mound and Jesse Houser's five RBIs at the plate.
Then, after Hanford bombed west-side representative Lake Washington 14-8, the Falcons and Braves squared off in a pitchers duel where the little things counted big.
Hanford (15-12) managed just five baserunners against Drury, and two of those were taken care of with twin killings.
Second baseman Blake Raekes set the defensive tone for Kamiakin with a deft double play in the first inning, fielding a bounding ball up the middle, reversing his momentum to nip the bag with his toe and gunning the batter at first.
"Defense played great; Blake Raekes made an amazing play," said Drury, who struck out six and walked just two.
The Braves weren't overflowing with offense themselves, as Hanford starter Colin Serkowski was dealing tough cards. Kamiakin reached with infield hits twice in the first and once in the second, but only once got a runner into scoring position with less than two outs.
That was in the third, and Kamiakin made good on its one chance.
Joey Jansen led off the frame with a double on a hot shot that Serkowski was fortunate to deflect with his glove and not his head. His next pitch hit AJ Griffiths, and then Raekes bunted them along.
Oord stepped to the plate, worked a 3-0 count and then drove a ball plenty deep into center field to score Jansen from third on the sacrifice fly.
"That at-bat before (in the first inning) went 3-0 also, and I had the take sign, and it was a pitch right down the middle," Oord said.
This time when the fastball was offered up, he had the green light.
"I turned on it, got it up in the air. I knew it was far enough to get the job done."
It was, and it held up for four more innings.
"We had guys in scoring position a couple of times, and their pitcher made a quality pitch he had to make," said Hanford coach Tom DeWitz. "It's tough, but the further you go the tougher it is. The more you win, the tougher the losses are."
Hanford 14, Lake Washington 8
Finn McMichael hit a two-run double and Ryan Neal a two-run homer as the Falcons scored nine runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Neal finished 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and three RBIs. AJ Hoskins also hit a double and home run as Hanford piled up 14 hits. The Falcons led 13-1 after two innings.
"We knew we were playing well," Neal said of the big start. "We felt in our game."
This was the fourth straight year Hanford has qualified for state but its first tourney win since 1995.
Hanford 000 000 0 -- 0 3 0
Kamiakin 001 000 x -- 1 5 0
Colin Serkowski, Dan Scheibe (6) and Chris Synoground; Bryce Drury and Joey Flores.
Highlights--Jake Browne (H) 2B; Serkowski (H) 5IP-5H-1ER-1K-0BB; Joey Jansen (K) 2x3, 2B, R; Drew Oord (K) 1x2, RBI; Drury (K) 7IP-3H-0R-2BB-6K.
Lake Washington 103 002 2 -- 8 11 5
Hanford 940 010 x -- 14 14 0
Spencer Jackson, Duke Fanning (1), Wesley Russell (5), Zach Johnson (6) and Stevie Semler; Dan Scheibe, Garrison Becker (3) and Chris Synoground.
Highlights--Chris Moore (LW) 2x4, 2B, RBI; Z. Johnson (LW) 2x4, HR, 4 RBI; Kory Kohlwes (LW) 2x3, 2B, RBI; Semler (LW) 2x4, 2B; Nori Shimizu (LW) 2x4; Finn McMichael (H) 2x4, 2B, 3R, 3 RBI; Ryan Neal (H) 4x5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2R; AJ Hoskins (H) 2x5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2R; Synoground (H) 2x5.
