These South Sound baseball teams could make deep postseason runs
Will a South Sound school hoist a state baseball championship trophy this May? Here’s a look at a few locals from Class 4A down to 1A that we think could make a postseason run this spring, based on how they’ve played in the regular season.
SOUTH SOUND CONTENDERS
Class 4A
Puyallup (20-0, 15-0) — Puyallup, which is ranked in the Top 10 nationally by MaxPreps, is as loaded as ever and are the favorite to win it all this year. Senior Oregon State commit Mason Pike, last year’s TNT All-Area player of the year and a projected early-round MLB Draft pick this summer, is the state’s top pitcher (0.18 ERA, 64 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched) and has been electric at the plate this year too, batting .475 with 10 doubles, two triples and 21 RBI. He’s complemented by a host of other future college players. Eight Puyallup players are batting over .300 this spring.
Sumner (15-5, 12-4) — Sumner danced to the 4A championship game two years ago, but after missing the state tournament in 2024, could another run be in the cards? Puyallup is the league’s unquestioned favorite, but the Spartans have toppled every other 4A SPSL opponent in their way and took the nationally-ranked Vikings to the 13th inning in a thrilling Valley rivalry on April 14, a 10-5 loss. Top arms Garrett Levenhagen (sr.) and Wyatt Plyler (soph.) are already in postseason form with a complete lineup behind them; Xander Cypher homered in last week’s 9-2 win over Emerald Ridge and is 6-for-14 across his last five games.
Olympia (13-7, 10-6) — The Bears will probably need the bats to heat up to make a postseason run, but pitching wins out in the postseason and Olympia has two of the league’s best in Lincoln Berg (0.34 ERA, 55 strikeouts) and Trace Pruitt (0.54 ERA, 19 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched). Pruitt has also been effective at the plate, batting a team-high .362 with five doubles and a home run.
Emerald Ridge (13-7, 11-5) — They battled a sluggish 3-6 start, but the Jaguars turned on the jets and rattled off nine straight wins in a ruthless 4A SPSL. Right-hander Jaydyn Palacios is emerging as one of the league’s top arms, fresh off three straight complete games (two of them shutouts). There’s plenty of rotational depth, too: Robert Lutz (0.53 ERA, 24 K) and Octavian Wells (2.84 ERA) are impressing this spring alongside an offense with five hitters over the .300 mark.
Kentridge (11-4, 8-3) — A recent six-game win streak launched the Chargers into first place in the 4A NPSL and directly into the thick of postseason contention. Kentridge allowed only 2.5 runs per game over that span with top arms Riley Lambarena (1.70 ERA) and Akoni Nazarino (2.84 ERA) trading quality starts. Kentridge swept Tahoma in a two-game series last week and owns quality wins over Kennedy Catholic, Emerald Ridge, and Mount Si.
Class 3A
Decatur (14-1, 11-1) — To beat these Gators, 3A contenders must defuse Decatur’s dynamic pitching duo: Hunter and Tyler Buol are dominating NPSL foes on the mound this spring, combining for more than half of Decatur’s innings pitched with a combined 0.98 earned run average. OF Eric Havili (.400/.508/.820) powers a Gators offense that rolled to a 13-game win streak to start the campaign with just one loss since -- a two-game series split with second-place Enumclaw. Could we get a postseason rubber match?
Enumclaw (14-3, 10-3) — Ace Cooper Markham has been a strikeout machine with 79 punchouts and a 1.31 ERA in 37.1 innings pitched this spring. The Hornets have won eight out of their last 10 games, including a series split with Decatur in late April. INF Graham Wagner has been the team’s top hitter, batting .388 with three doubles, a triple and a team-high 15 RBI.
Gig Harbor (19-1, 15-1) — The Tides have compiled a near-flawless 19-1 record thanks to a lights-out pitching staff this spring in coach Ben Sleeter’s first season. Quentin Bockhorn has been the best of the bunch, compiling a 0.21 ERA with 38 strikeouts. He’s not the only one posting shutdown numbers, though; Jake Cuda, Logan Pedersen and Nathan Cheek all sport sub-1.00 earned run averages for Gig Harbor this season.
Capital (13-5, 11-3) — A younger team in recent years, Capital rosters 10 seniors aiming for back-to-back state appearances in 2025. The defending champions of a now-defunct 3A South Sound Conference (SSC) won nine straight games between March 12-April 2 and have kept the good times rolling with wins over the likes of Peninsula, Tumwater, and North Thurston. LF Gavin Dolan’s dramatic, two-run walk-off single lifted Capital over Peninsula last week, 7-6. “They’re staying composed late in games,” Cougars head coach Brian Shannon said. “Even if we’re down, we’re not out of it.”
Class 2A
Tumwater (12-4, 10-0) — The back-to-back state champions in 2022-23 fell in the 2A quarterfinals last season, but we think Tumwater has the roster for another meaningful postseason run. Winners in 11 of their last 12 games, the T-Birds are shredding 2A Evergreen competition of late, including Luke Houk’s five-inning no-hitter in a 13-0 win over Shelton last Wednesday. Look out for Tumwater’s lineup staples atop the order: LF Will Bond, CF Luke Overbay, and 2B Derek Thompson.
Fife (11-6, 8-3) — Defined by their star power, Fife returned three first-team all-SPSL selections and now aim for another state-tournament run after reaching the 2A quarterfinals in 2023. Two-way RHP/INF Evan Reece leads Fife in both ERA (0.74) and RBI (13) and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a start this season. C/INF Carter Christiansen (.533/.667/.800) is Fife’s top extra-base threat, and OF Dylan Hoots has a team-high 17 hits.
Steilacoom (12-4, 9-2) — We thought the Sentinels would probably take a step back this spring after losing star pitcher Micah Bujacich to graduation, but credit to Steilacoom coach Corey Widman for putting together another scrappy group. Catcher Ethan Ruhl has been a highlight in the middle of the lineup, hitting .409 with three doubles and a team-leading 17 RBI.
Class 1A
Charles Wright/Life Christian (10-3, 8-1) — The two Tacoma private schools are playing as a combined program in Class 1A and have had a successful season. Senior right-handed pitcher Easton Francis (25.2 innings pitched, 1.36 ERA with 39 strikeouts) has the squad in contention with an arsenal of fastball, curveball and changeup. He has been hot at the plate (.390, 14 RBI) also for Charles Wright, which has won seven straight and sits in first place in the 1A Nisqually. Life Christian junior Reece Colbert has been another notable two-way player, boasting a 1.72 ERA with 40 strikeouts this season and hitting .475 with six doubles this spring. And Life Christian junior Ryder Fox is batting .389. The team has a 1.44-team ERA with 131 strikeouts to just 19 walks.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
