‘We just never give up.’ Kennewick rallies, stuns Gig Harbor in 3A semifinal
It looked bleak for Kennewick in Friday’s state baseball tournament semifinal game against Gig Harbor at Parker Faller Field in Yakima. Down to its final three outs, Kennewick trailed 5-2 in the top of the seventh inning.
But the Lions didn’t falter, drawing two walks and a single to immediately load the bases. Then third baseman Dominic Driver drove in a run and right fielder Bradley Parker tied the game with a single, scoring two.
It snowballed after the game went to extra innings. Second baseman Dierks Chavez drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth and Kennewick batted around the order, scoring seven runs in the eighth to complete the improbable comeback win, 12-5.
“We just never give up,” Chavez said. “That’s what we try to do, day in and day out. We work as hard as we can and see what happens.”
An assistant told Kennewick coach Lenny Ayres, “You’re gonna have to cut this team’s head off.” He liked that.
“They’ll fight to the end,” Ayres said. “They don’t quit. They have no quit. They find ways. In a game like that, that’s a great team over there. To go down and then to have the gumption to fight back into it, just shows the character of our boys.”
Gig Harbor held a narrow 3-2 lead but scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth. After Tides’ center fielder Danny Porras was intentionally walked, first baseman Ethan Mar hammered a double off the left field fence, driving in a pair of runs. Turns out, it wasn’t enough insurance.
The game wasn’t without controversy. There were a few calls Gig Harbor coach Ben Sleeter felt didn’t go Gig Harbor’s way. Most notably, a double play in the bottom of the seventh: baserunner Wes Bonnici saw an open third base after a bunt and took off from second. He was called out on the tag from the hustling third baseman.
“They were brutal,” Sleeter said. “That’s the winning run, 90 feet away. I trust my guys are gonna do their job right there. For (the umpires) to blow that, it really wasn’t close. It wasn’t close at all. Clearly safe.”
Sleeter said if not for some execution miscues, though, Gig Harbor wouldn’t have been in the position. And for a team that won the 3A Puget Sound League and advanced to the state tournament semifinals largely on the back of its pitching and defense, it unraveled on Friday.
“You’ve gotta tip your cap to them, “Sleeter said. “They came out and swung the bat well. They were patient. Especially when we got into our pen. They weren’t chasing. Got those three guys on in the seventh. You tip your cap to them. We didn’t execute today.”
Kennewick, meanwhile, marches onto the 3A state championship game, where it’ll face the winner of Mount Vernon vs. Ballard. The Lions are hoping for a home-friendly crowd, just 84 miles from their campus.
“Hopefully it’s packed out here,” Chavez said. “Hopefully every seat is filled up with Kennewick fans and they’re cheering loud.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM.
