These two baseball teams will play in front of the home crowd at state

The Southridge Suns are making a return visit to the Class 3A baseball Final Four — for the third year in a row.

Wyatt Hull pitched a complete game, and Nick Grade belted a bases-clearing double in the second inning to help propel the Suns to an 8-3 victory Saturday over the Kennewick Lions in the state quarterfinals at Pasco High School.

"We have great kids who show up every day and work their butts off," Suns coach Tim Sanders said. "We have been there before and there are expectations. Wyatt was fabulous today. I tip my hat to Kennewick, they have a solid team."

The Lions (18-7), who shut out Bainbridge 6-0 in the first round, didn't have the firepower in the second game.

"I don't know the answer, or I would have fixed it," said Lions coach Lenny Ayres, whose team managed just four hits against the Suns. "Wyatt threw a good game. We faced a good dude and he got huge outs when he needed them. He faced a good lineup, but the kid was better than we were today."

The Suns, who topped Shelton 3-1 in their first game, advance to the state semifinals at Gesa Stadium in Pasco. Southridge will face Eastside Catholic at 7 p.m. Friday.

Southridge (21-4) got on the board early against the Lions.

A sacrifice fly by Jack Sanders scored courtesy runner Aiden Morrison in the first inning, and Grade drove in three in the second for a 4-0 ballgame

"That really brought energy to the team," Grade said. "It felt good."

Meanwhile, Hull faced just 10 batters through the first three innings, allowing no hits and just one man to reach to base.

"I felt the energy through our team," said Hull, who is 12-1 on the year. "I said we are going back. It's really nice to have the guys making plays for you. I struggled in the fifth and sixth, but I never wanted to give the ball up. I battled through it and got it done."

Brayden Collier drove in a run for Kennewick in the fourth, and a two-run single by Tim Gee in the fifth pulled the Lions within 7-3.

But that would be it for Kennewick.

Lane Hailey and Brendan Tool drove in runs for Southridge in the fourth inning, and Jack Sanders added an RBI single in the sixth for the Suns' final run.

"It was a team effort," Tim Sanders said. "We preach pitch it a little big, play catch and situational hit. You do that, you are going to win a lot of games. We will enjoy this for a few minutes, then get back to work."

Southridge 3, Shelton 1

Tied at 1-1 heading into the seventh inning, Grade drew a bases-loaded walk to send a run across the plate, and Tool followed with a sacrifice fly for a two-run advantage.

The Highclimbers failed to score in the bottom of the seventh, sending the Suns to the quarterfinals.

Kody Bruton started the game for Southridge and went 5 2/3 innings before Jake Harvey finished out. They combined for a three-hitter.

Casey Proctor went 3-for-3 for the Suns, while Hailey and Wesley Hickman hit doubles.

Kennewick 6, Bainbridge 0

Trent Sellers pitched six innings of five-hit ball, and Kobe Dumo drove in two runs as the Lions defeated the Spartans.

Sellers scattered two hits over the first four innings and allowed just four baserunners.

The Lions also scored two runs off errors, and a Easton Stevens brought in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the third inning.

Richland wins 2 to advance

The Bombers (16-10) punched their ticket to the 4A state semifinals for the first time since 2012 with a pair of wins Saturday at Heritage Park in Puyallup.

Richland started the day with a 10-0 victory over Tahoma, then followed with a 6-2 win over Todd Beamer.

"Our boys came out swinging," Bombers coach Grant Richardson said. "It was a great day of baseball."

The Bombers will play Federal Way in the 4A semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.

Against Todd Beamer, the Bombers trailed 2-1 in the top of the sixth, but scored two runs on an error to take the lead for good.

Taylor Johnson picked up the win, pitching a complete game. He allowed three hits and struck out six. Christian Berry had four hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning.

In their game with Tahoma, Kirby Robertson and Kyle Corrigan each drove in two runs for the Bombers, while Caleb Richter pitched a complete game with six strikeouts.

Richland was prepared to face Tahoma ace Nick Dazell, who boasts a 0.50 ERA, but when he started at first base, the Bombers pounced on the Bears.

"When we saw he wasn't starting, we said 'let's make it hurt,' " Richardson said. "And we did."

In another first-round 4A game, Chiawana (14-10) dropped a 3-0 game to Wenatchee in Spokane.

Tri-Cities Prep back in the Final Four

Logan Mercado allowed one run on five hits and struck out eight in leading the Jaguars to a 5-1 win over Colfax to make a return trip to the Class 2B Final Four.

The game was a rematch of last year's state title game, which Colfax won 5-3.

TCP (23-2) beat Liberty Bell 12-1 in its opening game.

The Jaguars will face Kalama in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at Wheeler Field in Centralia.

This story was originally published May 19, 2018 at 8:15 PM with the headline "These two baseball teams will play in front of the home crowd at state."