Tumwater walked off by Bainbridge in state title game
May 31-Box Score
At Joe Martin Stadium (Bellingham)
SPARTANS 1, THUNDERBIRDS 0 (8 inn.)
Tumwater 000 000 00 - 0
Bainbridge 000 000 01 - 1
TUM Pitching - Konrad 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K; Womach 2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 2 K. Highlights - Bunn 1-3; Womach 1-3; Rodriguez 1-3.
BAIN Pitching - Curfman 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Highlights - French 3-4; Kochenash 1-2; Dikman 0-2, 2 BB, RBI.
Baseball can be a cruel game.
Tumwater had its chances against No. 1 Bainbridge in the 2A State Championship Game at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham, but the Thunderbirds couldn't capitalize in a 1-0 eight-inning loss.
A tough hop on a groundball led to a Tumwater error in the eighth, which allowed the winning run to score.
"We battled," Tumwater coach Lyle Overbay said. "We did everything we could, and we just fell short."
A win would have given Tumwater its third state title in five years. Instead, the Spartans left the field celebrating their second straight championship.
Through five innings, the game was a pitcher's duel between Tumwater's Braeden Konrad and Bainbridge's McCrea Curfman, who made his first start in over three weeks.
Curfman was more efficient, but Konrad continued to post zeroes, even after Bainbridge loaded the bases with just one out in the fifth, Konrad got a strikeout and a pop out to end the frame with the 0-0 tie intact.
Across five innings of work, Konrad allowed just three hits and struck out six.
In the sixth, Jimmy Womach entered in relief, and he posted two more zeroes to send the game to extras.
"When we needed to make a pitch, they did," Overbay said of Konrad and Womach. "They just bulldog it, get in there, and execute the pitches when they need to. It's fun to watch. They're a big reason why we were there."
Womach got some help from his defense in the bottom of the seventh, when Peyton Davis threw out the potential winning run at the plate.
In the top of the eighth, the T-Birds (23-5) had the chance to take the lead, as Charlie Crawford stepped to the plate with two runners in scoring position and two outs. Crawford laced a line drive that seemed destined for the left-field corner, but Bainbridge third baseman Will Rohrbacher leapt to corral it and record the final out of the frame.
"The breaks didn't go our way," Overbay said. "A foot higher, we score two and probably win the game ... We did a lot of good things, it just didn't end the way we wanted it to. I told the guys we did everything we could. That's the sucky part about baseball, sometimes the breaks don't go your way."
In the bottom of the eighth, Bainbridge loaded the bases with one out, and Tumwater brought the infield in. Womach got the next batter to hit a ground ball to short, but it took a rough hop off the turf, and the winning run sprinted home to score.
Womach ended up pitching two and a third of relief, while Curfman pitched all eight innings for the Spartans. He needed just 84 pitches to do so, allowing just three hits and walking two while striking out four.
"His location is his biggest asset," Overbay said of the Utah Valley University commit. "He really locates in and out. You can't just sit on one pitch ... He doesn't really give you a good pitch to hit very often."
Womach, Max Bunn, and Isaiah Rodriguez collected Tumwater's three hits.
It was the final game for Tumwater's 11 seniors, a group that includes Womach, Konrad, Bunn, and Davis.
"The only reason we're here is because of them," Overbay said. "They led this team. They kept everyone accountable and stayed positive even when they struggled. They encouraged their teammates and they really played team first. That was our biggest thing this spring, was to go in and do that, and they did that. It showed what kind of team we can be when they do that."
"I'm just proud of them," Overbay continued, shifting his focus to the group as a whole. "One thing after another doesn't go your way, but they didn't panic. They just kept making plays and found ways to be successful. It was different people every game making a play or a pitch, or having a good at-bat, or driving in a run. It was a really good team effort. I'm proud of them."
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