High school baseball roundup: Puyallup claims undefeated 4A SPSL title with extra-innings win over Olympia
With three outs remaining and a Class 4A South Puget Sound League championship on the line, Puyallup High School faced a challenge unseen all season — completing a comeback.
Not only was Olympia an inning away from taking home the title, they were minutes from spoiling Puyallup’s perfect season in their final game.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Puyallup needed two runs to tie and three to win in a 3-1 game.
It was crunch time.
A fielding error and walk gave the Vikings a pair of base runners, and first baseman Jacob Yang stepped up to the plate representing the winning run. Yang came through with a single, but the runners held.
Bases loaded, nobody out.
Then, a walk. Puyallup’s Donte Grant trotted home. Olympia’s lead was cut to one run, and the potential winning run now stood at second.
A sacrifice fly from Noah Fields tied the game at 3-3. A hit would more than likely win the game, but a strikeout and groundout ended the threat, sending the contest to extra innings.
Puyallup’s defense retired the side in order in the top of the eighth, but the Vikings stranded two runners in scoring position in the bottom half.
It wasn’t until the ninth inning that the Vikings cashed in the league-clinching run. With Garret Ringer on third, Brett Ellingson placed a bunt down the third base line, and Ringer scored on the squeeze play, completing not only Puyallup’s title run, but the second undefeated season in program history.
“We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game,” Puyallup coach Marc Wiese said. “It just had that feel. It’s hard to beat somebody three times, and Olympia’s got great pitching. We made some mistakes early on.
“ … We just found a way to get it done tonight. Our guys believed. They believe they’re never out of a game. Just give us a chance. (Olympia) gave us a chance.”
Puyallup’s late-game comeback erased a gem from Olympia starter Aiden Herrick, who tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits against a Puyallup team accustomed to scoring double digits.
Three of Olympia’s starters had multi-hit nights, including leadoff hitter Aaron Rasmussen reaching base four times.
But, the play of the game was Puyallup’s game-winning bunt by Brett Ellingson.
“It means everything,” Ellingson said on winning the 4A SPSL title and completing an undefeated season. “That’s been our goal the whole year. Just win every game and play hard.”
Puyallup’s 2014 squad completed the school’s first undefeated season with a record of 28-0. They ranked third nationally, and capped off the season with a state championship.
The COVID-19 pandemic shortened high school seasons in a year unlike any other , but the Vikings still managed a perfect 16-0 record and dominated opponents throughout.
“Like I told the guys before the season, there’s only been one other in Puyallup history (to finish undefeated),” Wiese said. “They went 28-0 and were ranked No. 3 in the country and won a state championship.
“These guys went undefeated. In my heart, they’re state champions. That was our goal.”
3A PCL
Bonney Lake 13, Wilson 8: The Panthers baseball program sat out for about two weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak.
In fact, they were uncertain they would even qualify for this weekend’s 3A PCL tournament at all, given their required forfeitures.
The junior varsity team, coach Mike Olson said, took the field in place of the varsity, grabbed a win, and snuck Bonney Lake in as the fourth seed.
Then, the Panthers rallied for a 3A PCL championship on Saturday afternoon.
They won their semifinal against Stadium, 6-1, and took Saturday’s title game over Wilson after a late-inning rally.
Once Bonney Lake regained the lead in the sixth inning, pitcher Brennan Carbonell took the mound for the Panthers, and never looked back.
“Brennan took the ball in the sixth, and he just went out and did his thing,” Olson said. “You could see in his eyes that he wanted it. He told me he wanted it. After the sixth he came off, and I asked him how he felt. He said ‘I’m going,’ and I told him I’m not taking the ball from (him). He played with confidence. It was great.”
3A SSC
The 3A SSC decided its spring champions through regular season play, and Timberline (10-5) clinched the title with a 2-0 victory over Yelm on the final day of the season, holding off Capital (10-2) by a single game.
The Cougars won two of their three meetings with the Blazers during the season, but dropped games to North Thurston and River Ridge while the Blazers lost only to Capital.
Marcus Olson and C.J. Beard were among the Blazers top pitchers while Chris Rivera was a power-hitting presence in the lineup. Franco Segura, Kaleb McNeely, Tyler McLellan, Ben Baker, Brandon Larson each had big moments across the course of the season.
Timberline loses just four seniors from the 2021 team, so won’t have to do a massive overhaul to defend its title next spring.
Contributing writer Dave Weber contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 12:35 AM.