Napavine clinches first state semifinal berth in nine years

May 24-BOX SCORES

At Napavine HS

TIGERS 5, COUGARS 4

Jenkins002 011 0 - 4

Napavine202 000 1 - 5

JENK Pitching - McMillin 6 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO. Highlights - McMillin 3-4, RBI; Masuda 2-3, RBI, R, BB; Schatz 2-4, BB

NAP Pitching - C. Bullock 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO; Chambers 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO. Highlights - Griffith 2-2, 3 RBI, BB; Wilson 2-4, 2 RBI; Chambers 2-3, 2B, 2 R, BB; C. Bullock 2-4, 2B, 2 R

TIGERS 13, BULLDOGS 3 (6 inn.)

Colfax100 011 - 3

Napavine603 004 - 13

COL Highlights - Burt 2-3, 2B, 2 R, BB; Cofer 2-4, RBI, R; Andersen 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB

NAP Pitching - Griffith 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 5 SO; Deebach 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. Highlights - Wilson 3-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB, 3 SB; Edmonds 1-3, 3B, 4 RBI, R; Griffith 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R

Behind a walk-off single in the Round of 16 and a six-run bottom of the first inning, the No. 3 seeded Tigers pulled off a 5-4 triumph over No. 14 Jenkins out of Chwelah before thumping No. 11 Colfax 13-3 in six innings in the quarterfinals.

For the first time since 2017, Napavine (23-2) will be in the Final Four and a win away from a state championship. It will battle a familiar foe in C2BL rival Toutle Lake next week at Wood Field inside Carlon Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.

"For our guys to be as focused as they were through 13 innings was huge," Tigers head coach Brian Demarest said.

The two victories upped their winning streak to eight games and they needed some heroics to keep their championship hopes alive. Tied at 4-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, Cal Bullock led off with a double and Hudson Chambers moved his classmate over with a bunt single.

Grady Wilson poked a seeing-eye single to left field for the game-winner, the 10th hit of the day. Bullock, Chambers, Wilson and Layton Griffith combined for eight hits and five RBIs in the two-through-five spots.

Two runs in the first and a pair in the fourth gave Napavine a 2-0 lead and a 4-2 advantage, respectively. Bullock struck out seven in five innings and worked around seven hits plus four walks.

Against Colfax, which upset No. 6 Liberty Bell, Napavine opened the game with a 6-1 lead. Beckett Landram scored on a wild pitch and an error put the Tigers in the lead. Carter Edmonds cleared the bases with a triple and capped the frame by scoring on a wild pitch.

"As we say, the rollercoaster that is Carter has been on a high for a little bit," Demarest said.

Three more runs came across in the third and the Tigers ended the game early in the sixth thanks to three hit by pitches, including the game-ender. Griffith battled four walks to toss five innings and notch five strikeouts.

Wilson was 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs while Griffith drove in three and Edmonds added four. Wilson also stole three bases. Napavine struck out just seven times in its first two tournament games.

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