RA Long baseball falls to W.F. West at districts

CHEHALIS - R.A. Long baseball couldn't muster up enough offense and fell to W.F. West 2-0 in the District 4 2A Baseball Tournament consolation finals on Saturday at W.F. West High School.

The Jacks narrowly missed the state tournament and saw their season end.

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W. F. West is currently ranked No. 2 in the WIAA's RPI ranking system, and the Jacks went toe-to-toe with them for seven innings. R.A. Long coach Ryan Littlefield said that was proof his team deserved to be in the state tournament.

"This shows that we belong there," he said. "That's just how I feel. It doesn't matter who we're going up against. We don't care. Underdog mentality doesn't exist in this dugout."

The Bearcats scored both of their runs in the bottom of the second inning, one on an RBI single and one on an R.A. Long error. The Jacks left runners on base in multiple innings. They had four hits in total as Presley Havens notched two singles, Kamble Johns doubled, and Evan Hart had a single as well.

R.A. Long baseball: Kamble Johns

R.A. Long's Kamble Johns swings his bat during the District 4 2A Baseball Tournament consolation semifinals against Aberdeen on Saturday, May 16, at W.F. West High School in Chehalis. Johns had a single against the Bobcats and hit a double in the game after against W.F. West.

"We had a few opportunities to score on offense, that's what playoff baseball is all about," Littlefield said. "You usually have three or four opportunities to score runs, and that's all you get, so we didn't execute on those."

Jeff Rooklidge pitched for 4 2/3 innings and gave up five hits and one earned run. Jonah Cadigan came in for 1 1/3 innings of relief and didn't give up any hits or earned runs while striking out one batter.

R.A. Long baseball: Jeff Rooklidge

R.A. Long's Jeff Rooklidge throws a pitch during the District 4 2A Baseball Tournament consolation finals against W.F. West on Saturday, May 16, at W.F. West High School in Chehalis. Rooklidge only gave up one earned run in 4 2/3 innings of work, but the Jacks fell to the Bearcats 2-0 and had their season come to an end. The senior had two hits in a 5-4 win against Aberdeen in the game prior.

"Jeff pitched a really good game," Littlefield said. "He was awesome."

Before the game against W.F. West, the Jacks took down Aberdeen 5-4 on Saturday to set up the duel with the Bearcats. In that contest, R.A. Long went ahead 4-0 in the first inning.

Following singles from Riley Young and Rooklidge and a walk from Havens, Cadigan smashed a 3-run triple to center field. Korgin Booth then brought another run home with an RBI single.

R.A. Long baseball: Jonah Cadigan

R.A. Long's Jonah Cadigan swings his bat during the District 4 2A Baseball Tournament consolation semifinals against Aberdeen on Saturday, May 16, at W.F. West High School in Chehalis. Cadigan had a 3-run triple in the game and earned the save while pitching in relief.

The Jacks added another run at the top of the second to go up 5-0. With the bases loaded after an Aberdeen error and another single each from Young and Rooklidge, Havens grounded into a fielder's choice as Johns scored.

However, in the bottom of the fifth, the Bobcats came alive. They scored 4 consecutive runs to pull the lead down to just 1. Nonetheless, R.A. Long's defense stood its ground in the sixth and seventh innings to secure the victory.

Ryder Worel had two singles, while Johns also had a hit in the game. Young pitched for 5 2/3 innings, striking out four batters while giving away four hits and no earned runs to pick up the win. Cadigan came in for 1 1/3 relief innings and gave away two hits and no earned runs while generating one strikeout to earn the save.

R.A. Long baseball: Riley Young

R.A. Long's Riley Young throws a pitch during the District 4 2A Baseball Tournament consolation semifinals against Aberdeen on Saturday, May 16, at W.F. West High School in Chehalis. Young had two hits in the game and also struck out four batters while picking up the win on the mound.

All four of Aberdeen's runs were unearned as the Jacks committed two errors, both in the bottom of the fifth.

R.A. Long finished the season with a 14-11 overall record. The Jacks had a rough beginning to the season; however, they rallied together six straight wins to end the regular season, finishing in a three-way tie for second place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League.

"We just stuck with it, kept practicing, and kept getting 1% better each day," Littlefield said. "We were able to go on a pretty good winning streak there and play good baseball at the end."

Quote

"Underdog mentality doesn't exist in this dugout."

- R.A. Long coach Ryan Littlefield

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 4:27 AM.