Why these guys? Southridge baseball finally makes it back to state semis

Some incredible players have come through the Southridge baseball program over the past dozen years.

Legends like O’Malley and Mattair, a couple of Mendenhalls and the Jackson twins. And most recently Nate Newbry.

The list is littered with conference MVPs, Division I college talent and a Seattle Mariner.

But it took guys named Kirchhoff and Morgan, Harvey and Simon, Grigg and Oldham and Crider, and — of course — several members of the Sanders clan to finally get the Suns back in position to win a state title.

Plus a little base knock from Christ.

Cavet Christ, that is.

No, this group of Suns won’t wow you with moon-shot blasts or 90 mph fastballs. And there are no gaudy numbers, no Murderers’ Row, because they spread the offense around.

But they will play at Gesa Stadium on Friday morning, one of just four teams still alive to win the Class 3A state title. Southridge (21-5) faces Lake Washington (22-2) at 10 a.m., with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship game.

Share the load

“I’m not all that sure why they didn’t get there or what kept them from getting there,” second baseman and pitcher Ethan Sanders said of previous teams failing to make it to the the state semifinals — the Final Four. “I just know this group of guys we have, we’re just super close. Everybody’s tight with everybody. We’re one unit. We don’t really have groups here. It’s just one solid team that understands each other.”

Sanders, the son of coach Tim Sanders, is one of 10 seniors on the Southridge varsity squad that has gone farther than any other Suns team since winning the whole thing in 2004.

That 2004 team was stocked with big-time names like Shawn O’Malley — he’s the Mariner — and Travis Mattair. Lonnie Lechelt, Travis Coulter, Matt Crowe, Jordan Reeder ... the roster was a who’s who of Southridge baseball greats.

A lot of those guys returned over the next few seasons but never made it back to the semifinals. And neither did teams since then that dominated the Big Nine and then Mid-Columbia Conference.

“That it has been that long is surprising because there have been teams in the early 2000s and in ’12 when the Jacksons (Ty and Bryce) were here and all those great athletes,” catcher Jake Kirchhoff said. “And you’re just surprised that none of those teams (made it), so we know that we really accomplished something by coming this far when teams like that, that we thought we’d never compete with, they never made it that far.”

The players and their coach are in lock step that sound fundamentals and a good attitude are key.

“We’re not really like those other teams,” said Jashaun Simon, a three-year starter in the outfield. “Those teams hit home runs every other game, and we’re kind of a base-hit team. We pitch it, we hit it, and we situational hit. And if we do that, we’ll be fine in the Final Four and into the championship.”

Ups and downs

They’ve bounced back well from adversity. The Suns opened the MCC season getting swept by Richland, including a shutout.

It was a stark wake-up call for a veteran club with plenty of returning talent.

“We definitely had our ups and downs,” said shortstop Kyle Harvey. “But that’s just a great saying: We have found a way once we got to this tournament. A lot of people don’t really remember what we kind of got past in the district championship game was a 9-1 loss to Kennewick. Kind of let that fuel us, and once we got on a role, we just kept going.”

That included a therapeutic 10-run win in the first round of state last weekend over Mercer Island, the team that ended the Suns’ season last year. Then came a tight 3-2 win over Lynnwood, with Christ driving in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning with a pinch-hit single. It was just his third trip to the plate this season, but it cleared the path to Gesa.

“I think that we’ve had to grow, get a lot better this season, and I think that we’ve come back from losses real well,” said Bradley Morgan, who was named the MCC pitcher of the year for the second straight season. “Losing’s not fun.”

Brothers in arms

Tim Sanders, the only baseball coach Southridge has ever had, said there is one similarity between the 2004 and 2016 clubs: their bond.

“If something were to go down with that 2004 team, they were glue and they stuck together,” Sanders said. “They just hung out together, very competitive, fiery, good baseball players. The found a way to overcome (mistakes) together. This group is the same.”

First baseman and pitcher Ryan Sanders — Tim’s nephew — said that bond is borne of playing together so long.

“We’re the guys that have been together since our freshmen year, and we’ve just been working toward this,” Ryan Sanders said. “And to be able to make it here is awesome.”

This weekend is the culmination of four years of planning and dreaming for the Suns, of committing to a style of play that emphasizes moving runners along and not waiting for the three-run bomb.

So, yeah, there will be some nerves.

“We’re probably going to be puckered up a little, ’cause it’s late in the year,” said third-year pitcher Matthew Oldham, whose eight wins lead the team. “But we’re gonna keep fighting. We’re never going to let up at any point in the game.”

And, you guessed it, they’ll find a way.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Why these guys? Southridge baseball finally makes it back to state semis."