Ticket punched: These South Sound baseball teams clinched state tournament berths
Punch those tickets!
With district tournaments in full swing, these South Sound baseball teams have clinched state berths in WIAA brackets from May 20-31:
4A
KENNEDY CATHOLIC LANCERS (15-7)
District win: Kennedy Catholic 6, Emerald Ridge 2 (opening round)
Recap: Harvey Lieberman threw a complete game and the Lancers grabbed four runs in the first inning of Tuesday’s 6-2 win. Lieberman allowed two earned runs in the first but rallied for six shutout frames thereafter, retiring Emerald Ridge’s final six batters. Lancers LF Will Cahill sparked the early eruption with a two-run double to right field.
Team breakdown: Lieberman is Kennedy Catholic’s workhorse, a junior southpaw with a 5-1 record and 1.81 ERA in 10 starts this season. At the plate, he’s one of nine Lancers batting over .300 (min. 20 AB) for an offense averaging nearly seven runs per game.
Quality wins: Tahoma, Kentridge, Olympia, Eastlake, Redmond
PUYALLUP VIKINGS (24-0)
District win: Puyallup 6, Olympia 0 (opening round)
Recap: Star right-hander Mason Pike threw a complete-game shutout, Kyler Malnar launched a two-run home run in the first inning, and Puyallup blanked SPSL-rival Olympia on Tuesday for their 24th straight win. Pike permitted only three hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts over seven stellar frames.
Team breakdown: A nationally-ranked freight train rolls into the state tournament. The Vikings are the No. 2 high school team in the country, per MaxPreps, and ride an undefeated 24-0 record to the big dance. Pike is 4-0 with a 0.25 ERA and is Puyallup’s best hitter (.493/.588/.718), considered an early-round prospect in this summer’s MLB Draft. Seven qualified Vikings hit over .300 in a strong 4A SPSL this spring.
Quality wins: Sumner (4-0), Emerald Ridge (2-0), Mount Vernon, Kennedy Catholic, Eastlake
SUMNER SPARTANS (17-6)
District win: Sumner 2, Tahoma 1 (opening round)
Recap: RHP Wyatt Plyler sparkled over 6.2 innings and Ryder Peterson induced Tuesday’s game-winning groundout for a save that clinched Sumner’s first state tournament appearance since 2023. Leadoff LF Jaxon Cummings plated both Spartans runs with a two-run single in the third. Plyler surrendered four hits and one run (none earned) with two walks and 11 strikeouts. He threw 106 pitches.
Team breakdown: Are the Spartans peaking at the right time? Sumner is 5-1 since April 23 and challenged nationally-ranked Puyallup in an 11-7 loss. In Plyler’s last three starts, the sophomore right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
Quality wins: Emerald Ridge (2-1), West Seattle, Curtis, Olympia
CURTIS VIKINGS (17-8)
District win: Curtis 7, Tahoma 2 (winner-to-state, loser-out)
Recap: Joe Giles’ two-run single sparked a four-run third inning and the Vikings bullpen (Brian Harris, Cooper Hordyk) threw four shutout relief innings in Saturday’s elimination game. Leadoff shortstop Parker Mady went 2-for-4 and scored two runs.
OLYMPIA BEARS (17-8)
District win: Olympia 4, Emerald Ridge 2 (winner-to-state, loser-out)
Recap: Lincoln Berg 3, Emerald Ridge 2. Olympia’s left-hander threw a complete game and delivered a three-run homer to clinch a state berth Saturday. Berg allowed two runs (0 ER) across seven stellar frames, striking out four without a walk. DH Trace Pruitt added an RBI single in the fourth.
3A
CAPITAL COUGARS (15-7)
District win: Capital 9, Prairie 3 (opening round)
Recap: Senior right-hander Lucas Redman threw five strong frames and the Cougars offense pounced for seven runs in the final pair of innings to emerge in Tuesday’s 9-3 win. Shortstop Chase Waters went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI; Redman allowed one run (none earned) with seven strikeouts and added two hits at the plate.
Team breakdown: Led by 10 seniors, the Cougars rattled off eight straight wins to begin the campaign and finished runner-up in the 3A Puget Sound League (Gig Harbor). Redman, also the quarterback of the football team, was the PSL Nisqually’s Offensive Player of the Year and doubles as head coach Brian Shannon’s reliable playoff arm. Capital meets rival Gig Harbor in Saturday’s district semifinals.
Quotable: “It’s awesome for these guys and for our program, going to back-to-back state tournaments,” head coach Brian Shannon said. “These guys have just absolutely worked their tails off to get in this position, to have this opportunity, and they definitely earned it today and all year.”
Quality wins: North Thurston (2-0), Timberline (2-0), Tumwater, Silas
GIG HARBOR TIDES (22-1)
District win: Gig Harbor 1, Kelso 0 (opening round)
Recap: Hunter Payne’s RBI single to center field snapped a scoreless tie in the sixth inning and punched Gig Harbor’s state ticket in Tuesday’s pitching clinic over Kelso. Tides RHP Quentin Bockhorn threw 4.2 shutout innings (10 K) and Jake Cuda earned the win with 2.1 no-hit frames in relief.
Team breakdown: Gig Harbor dominated the 3A Puget Sound League with elite pitching and defense, starting the campaign on a 16-game win streak. The Tides own a minuscule 0.86 team ERA headlined by Bockhorn, who’s allowed just two earned runs in 42.2 innings pitched this season.
Quality wins: Capital (2-0), Silas (2-0), Central Kitsap, Peninsula, West Seattle
NORTH THURSTON RAMS (17-5)
District win: North Thurston 4, Enumclaw 0 (opening round)
Recap: Rudy Larson’s complete-game shutout silenced Enumclaw in Tuesday’s district opener, a four-hitter with two walks and eight strikeouts. Kole French and Jaylen Kennedy sparked North Thurston’s offense with RBI doubles in the fifth inning before the Rams added two insurance runs in the seventh.
Team breakdown: The Rams are surging, enjoying an active 12-game win streak. French, the leadoff shortstop, leads North Thurston in batting average (.443), on-base percentage (.543), slugging percentage (.543), runs (29), and RBI (19). Kennedy is among the league’s top defensive catchers and Larson dominated 3A PSL opponents with a 6-0 record and 0.40 ERA this season.
Quotable: “We won a couple in a row, and our confidence built,” head coach Joe Meggs said. “Our pitching staff has really stepped up in the second half, but we’re swinging the bats pretty well right now and playing good defense behind our pitchers. I think it’s just a momentum thing.”
Quality wins: Peninsula (2-0), Tenino, Silas
PENINSULA SEAHAWKS (14-7)
District win: Peninsula 6, Decatur 5 (opening round)
Recap: Seahawks 1B Matthew Sleeter went 4-for-4 and powered Tuesday’s 6-5 playoff win, avenging their 10-3 loss to the Golden Gators on April 17. Sleeter delivered RBI singles in the third and fifth innings, one of four Seahawks to plate at least one run. Peninsula starter Kaleb Copeland navigated 12 hits over six frames, permitting five earned runs with one walk and five strikeouts.
Team breakdown: Peninsula’s pitching staff excelled in a competitive 3A Puget Sound League, posting a 2.36 team ERA. Three starters tallied at least 20 innings pitched with sub-2.00 earned run averages (Copeland, Pete Browand, Hayden Bundy). Sophomore INF Kainoa Coit paces Peninsula in batting average (.373) and OPS (.904) this season.
Quality wins: Capital, Silas
CENTRAL KITSAP COUGARS (14-9)
District win: Central Kitsap 9, Kelso 1 (fifth-place game)
Recap: The No. 12 Cougars won three straight games in the district bracket to keep their season alive. Jackson Brady earned Saturday’s win, allowing one run over 5.2 solid frames (3 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 5 K).
DECATUR GOLDEN GATORS (20-4)
District win: Decatur 8, Kelso 1 (winner-to-state, loser-out)
Recap: Hunter and Tyler Buol’s combined one-run pitching performance Saturday lifted Decatur back into the state tournament for the first time since 2015. Tyler Buol finished 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, and Nate Gilmore doubled twice.
ENUMCLAW HORNETS (18-5)
District win: Enumclaw 7, Decatur 6 (fifth-place game)
Recap: With Decatur’s tying run aboard, Carter Grant induced the game-winning groundout and earned Saturday’s save to punch Enumclaw’s ticket to state. Drew Francis’ RBI double capped a four-run fifth inning.
2A
TUMWATER THUNDERBIRDS (17-6)
District win: Tumwater 11, Hockinson 1 (semifinals)
Recap: Senior Luke Houk threw five excellent innings, Charlie Crawford drove in three runs, and Tumwater ran away from Hockinson in Wednesday’s 2A District 4 semifinals to punch their state-tournament ticket. Houk retired his first nine batters in order, allowing three hits (one earned run) with no walks and five strikeouts over five strong. Tumwater plated a game-high four runs in the fourth inning, capped by Crawford’s two-out, two-run single to center field.
Team breakdown: The back-to-back 2A champions in 2022-23 are back in the state bracket, searching for their third title in four years. Tumwater won 11 straight games between April 9 and May 2 and faces Evergreen rival W.F. West — the team that snapped their streak — in Saturday’s district championship game. It’s their fourth meeting of the season (1-2).
Quality wins: W.F. West (1-2), Tahoma
FIFE TROJANS (16-9)
District win: Fife 4, Franklin Pierce 2 (winner-to-state, loser-out)
Recap: Three-homer game! Carter Christiansen powered the Trojans offense over SPSL-rival Franklin Pierce on his own, going 3-for-3 with three home runs and four RBI. Fife starter Miles Ducharme struck out seven throughout Saturday’s complete game (3 H, 2 R, 1 ER).
This story will be updated as local programs secure state berths.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM.
