‘We focus on us’: No. 1 Enumclaw baseball enters 2A state tournament on win streak
21 straight wins.
229 runs scored, 56 allowed.
The No. 1 seed in this year’s 2A state baseball bracket.
Don’t throw these flashy numbers in Enumclaw’s direction – their eyes are on a much bigger prize.
The momentum builds in Enumclaw with each and every win. Now 67 days since the Hornets dropped their season opener to reigning two-time state-champion Tumwater, 5-2, the Hornets disposed of 2A SPSL opponents in unbeaten fashion (16-0) to secure the program’s third straight league title.
Still unbeaten, Enumclaw buzzed to last week’s District 2/3 championship in a 9-6 slugfest win over North Kitsap. And despite a win streak that has grown to 21, each of the Hornets play with a growing chip on their shoulder. In consecutive state tournaments from 2022-23, Enumclaw knocked on the door of the state’s semifinal round, or the ‘Final Four,’ only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals.
This could be the Hornets group to finally kick that door down. Another chance for glory begins Saturday at Auburn High School, when No. 1 Enumclaw meets No. 16 Kingston in a state opener. 16 teams remain.
“They were ready to go today,” Enumclaw coach Eric Fielder told The News Tribune with a laugh. “Thank goodness we have a few more days. Rest the arms, stuff to work on. But they’re going to be ready to go on Saturday.
“We focus on us,” he added. “I think you go to games and you hear lots of chatter amongst certain teams. Our chatter is all about our guys. We don’t really pay attention to what the other teams are saying.”
It’s one of the more versatile groups Fielder has directed at Enumclaw across nearly two decades at the helm. Rarely are groups so even-keeled, he said.
It starts with Oregon commit Cooper Markham on the mound, the hard-throwing right-hander with a firm four-seamer that reaches the low 90s and developing curveballs and splitters. He considers the curveball more of a slurve, with slider-like tendencies. His favorite is the pitcher’s pitch – a fastball that dots the corner up and in.
Markham wowed coaches with pinpoint command of his secondary arsenal in recent bullpen sessions, boosting optimism for another shutdown start from Enumclaw’s No. 1 this weekend. Across 35 ⅔ innings of his junior campaign, Markham is 5-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 1.093 WHIP, adding 58 strikeouts to 18 walks.
“When he’s got his curveball going, it’s as good of a high school curveball that I’ve seen,” Fielder said.
Senior lefty Garrett Chavis is Enumclaw’s two-way dual-threat, posting team-highs in batting average (.493) and RBI (30) with a 4-0 record and 1.62 ERA on the mound. He’s surrendered only 12 hits in 30 ⅓ innings this season, along with 46 strikeouts to 18 walks.
And if a team chases either of Markham or Chavis out of a game, there’s a dynamite closer waiting in the bullpen.
“Don’t forget about Alec Johnson,” Fielder warns.
In eight appearances (20.1 IP) for the Hornets this season, Johnson has allowed just one earned run. Enumclaw’s lefty closer is 5-0 with a microscopic 0.34 ERA and 0.639 WHIP. He’s not the “power pitcher” that one would define Markham as, but Johnson splits edges with his fastball and deceives with secondary offerings, fanning 42 and walking six throughout his senior season.
“(Alec) came back this year and jumped (in velocity), like, six or seven miles an hour,” Markham said Wednesday, impressed by his teammate. “Just dominant on the mound.”
Johnson, along with catcher Tanner Nichols and infielder Karson Holt, are Enumclaw’s senior captains. Nichols reaches base over 61 percent of the time and slashes .447/.618/.552. Holt, meanwhile, has a team-high 12 doubles from the leadoff hole.
“We don’t have a ton of home runs this year,” Fielder said. “We actually don’t have a ton of extra base hits. But we really, really run well. One through nine, we’ve got guys that are going to take off on base paths. And there really isn’t a guy in my order where we say, ‘He (can’t) bunt this guy, or we’re not going to hit-and-run, or we’re not going to run this guy.’
“We almost have the same philosophy with all of our hitters. ... You don’t get a ton of breaks in our lineup.”
Each year, a new crop of sixth graders begin middle school baseball within Enumclaw’s school district, adding talent to the pipeline. Fielder coaches fall ball at Enumclaw Middle School, and Hornets assistant baseball coach Danny Graham leads Thunder Mountain Middle School. High school players often attend in support of the up-and-comers.
“It’s a sixth grade through senior-in-high-school program,” Fielder said. “Kids are really excited to play under the lights at Osborn Field.”
With a win over No. 16 Kingston in Saturday’s opening round, Enumclaw would play again in that evening’s 2A quarterfinals against the No. 8 Tumwater-No. 9 Pullman winner – potentially paired with the same T-Birds that handed the Hornets their only loss in the season opener.
It’s not a question if Markham will pitch Saturday, but when.
The Oregon commit will be throwing on plenty of rest. Fielder did not throw Markham “in any way, shape, or form” in last Saturday’s district semifinals and championship.
“He’s better when he’s well rested,” Fielder said.
This story was originally published May 17, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
