Washington state baseball preview: top players, predictions for 3A and 4A championships
It’s tempting to look at top-seeded Puyallup’s semifinal matchup against No. 13 Lake Washington in Yakima on Friday and wonder if Vikings’ coach Marc Wiese should consider saving ace Mason Pike for a potential championship game. Theoretically, it’s a winnable game against a double digit seed, and Puyallup might be better served deploying Pike in the state championship game, if the Vikings were to advance.
Wiese won’t have that luxury. For starters, he generally isn’t in favor of rolling the dice and saving the ace. He threw Pike in last weekend’s state tournament opening round — Pike dominated, throwing a 17-strikeout no-hitter, by the way — and threw Pike in last year’s state tournament semifinal round.
“You can’t leave your horse,” Wiese said during practice at the Heritage Recreation Center in Puyallup on Wednesday. “You can’t assume anything in this game.”
More importantly, a closer look shows Lake Washington is a dangerous double-digit seed. Widely considered a top-five team before the season, the Kangaroos got off to a slow start but have hit their stride as of late.
And left-handed pitcher Shane Johnson, an Oregon commit, returned from injury around the halfway point of the season and has been dominating ever since, posting a 6-0 record, a 0.20 earned run average and 56 strikeouts in just 35 innings.
So no, Pike won’t be playing at second base on Friday night. Expect a pitcher’s duel in Yakima between two of the state’s best.
“(Johnson is) one of the best arms in the Northwest and we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Wiese said. “I expect it to be a pitcher’s duel and a well played baseball game with good defense. Probably whoever makes the least amount of mistakes is gonna win the baseball game.”
Here’s what to watch for at the Class 4A and 3A state semifinals and championship games, Friday and Saturday at Parker-Faller Field, which is adjacent to Yakima Valley Community College.
CLASS 4A
SCHEDULE
Semifinal: No. 3 Eastlake vs. No. 10 Jackson, 4 p.m. Friday
Semifinal: No. 1 Puyallup vs. No. 13 Lake Washington, 7 p.m. Friday
3rd/4th place game: 1 p.m. Saturday
Championship: 7 p.m. Saturday
TEAM PREVIEWS
No. 1 Puyallup (28-0) — The top-seeded Vikings are the favorite, undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country by MaxPreps. The Vikings have played in the Class 4A state championship game two of the past three seasons (2022, 2024), with a semifinal appearance sandwiched between, but only longtime coach Marc Wiese’s 2014 team went undefeated and won a state title — this year’s group is now just two wins away from potentially joining them. Puyallup needed a seventh-inning rally to erase a two run deficit and beat Lake Stevens in last weekend’s quarterfinal round. Ace Mason Pike, the reigning TNT All-Area player of the year, an Oregon State commit and a projected early-round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft, is the team’s two-way superstar, but this is a complete lineup top to bottom. Pike is coming off an elite performance in the opening round, in which he threw a 17-strikeout no-hitter against Moses Lake.
No. 3 Eastlake (23-8) — With No. 2 Kamiakin bounced in the quarterfinals, Eastlake is the team with the best shot to upend Puyallup. Eastlake won a tight 1-0 game over Curtis in the state tournament opener before a 4-2 win over Issaquah in the quarterfinals. Designated hitter Larson Kohlman (.328 average, five doubles, HR, 20 RBI) and two-way standout Cody O’Donnell (.312 avg, two doubles, 20 RBI; 0.31 earned run average on the mound) are players to watch under coach Elliott Cribby, who starred at the UW and coached at the Division I level for over a decade. Junior Rodrigo Montano (8-1, 1.41 ERA in 49.2 innings pitched) is the staff No. 1.
No. 10 Jackson (20-7) — One of two double-digit seeds in the semifinals, Jackson will hope things go better this time around against Eastlake; the last meeting was a 14-0 loss earlier this month. Jackson beat No. 7 North Creek in the opener, 5-0 and knocked off No. 2 Kamiakin in quarterfinals, 6-4, last weekend. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Ashton Bergman (.371 average) is the team’s spark. Drew Pepin (6-0, 0.91 ERA in 53.2 innings pitched) is the staff ace.
No. 13 Lake Washington (18-11) — The Kangs proved to be eastside killers in the opening rounds, blanking No. 4 West Valley (Yakima), 8-0 in the opener and beating reigning state champion, No. 5 Richland, 5-4, in the quarterfinals last weekend. Left fielder Aidan Mehlberg (.372 avg, five doubles, two triples, 21 RBI) has been the team’s top hitter this spring, while senior Shane Johnson (6-0, 0.20 ERA, 56 strikeouts in 35 innings) is Lake Washington’s most dangerous arm. Against West Alley, Johnson tossed six shutout innings, allowing three hits, walking one and striking out 11.
FAB FIVE
P Shane Johnson, Lake Washington, sr.
DH Larson Kohlman, Eastlake, jr.
P Drew Pepin, Jackson, sr.
P Mason Pike, Puyallup, sr.
CF Riley Sanoy, Puyallup, sr.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
No. 1 Puyallup 5, No. 3 Eastlake 4
CLASS 3A
SCHEDULE
Semifinal: No. 2 Gig Harbor vs. No. 3 Kennewick, 10 a.m. Friday
Semifinal: No. 1 Mount Vernon vs. No. 4 Ballard, 1 p.m. Friday
Third/fourth place game: 10 a.m. Saturday
Championship: 4 p.m. Saturday
TEAM PREVIEWS
No. 1 Mount Vernon (24-4) — The top-seeded Bulldogs defeated O’Dea and Decatur last weekend to reach the semifinal round. All eyes will be on shortstop Xavier Neyens, the No. 1 prospect in Washington in the 2025 class. Neyens, a chiseled 6-foot-4 lefty hitter with eye-popping raw power and athleticism, is projected as a first-round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft.
No. 2 Gig Harbor (26-2) — The Tides did their part to keep the 3A semifinals all chalk, beating No. 15 West Seattle, 3-2, in the opener and comfortably cruising past No. 7 Inglemoor in the quarterfinals, 6-2. Pitching and defense has been the name of the game for the Tides this spring. Junior Quentin Bockhorn, the 3A PSL Narrows pitcher of the year, has been the best of the rotation. Shortstop Jayce Corley can handle anything in his vicinity defensively and center fielder Danny Porras has plenty of pop in his bat.
No. 3 Kennewick (22-4) — The Lions have been able to score runs all season and haven’t slowed down in the state tournament, beating No. 14 Snohomish, 4-1 in the opening round and No. 11 Enumclaw in the quarterfinal, 5-4. Infielders Cameron Owen, Dierks Chavez and Dominic Driver, outfielder Dylan Mamiya and designated hitter Trayce Teagle were first-team selections in the Mid-Columbia Conference this spring. Fast, athletic group with a complete top-to-bottom lineup.
No. 4 Ballard (21-6) — Collected a 2-1 win over No. 13 Shorewood in the opening round and a 4-1 win over No. 12 Eastside Catholic in the tournament quarterfinals last weekend. Catcher Truitt Madonna has been mashing the baseball this spring — he’s batting .406 with three doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 13 RBI.
FAB FIVE
C Truitt Madonna, Ballard, sr.
CF Danny Porras, Gig Harbor, sr.
SS Xavier Neyens, Mount Vernon, sr.
OF Dylan Jacobs, Mount Vernon, sr.
SS Dierks Chavez, Kennewick, sr.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
No. 1 Mount Vernon 4, No. 2 Gig Harbor 3
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Washington state baseball preview: top players, predictions for 3A and 4A championships."
