Down goes No. 1! Gonzaga Prep knocks off Richland in 4A state semifinal
Jackson Mott could be forgiven for not having warm and fuzzy feelings when he sees the Richland High School green and yellow. After all, his Gonzaga Prep basketball team lost to the Bombers in the Class 4A state championship game at the Tacoma Dome in the winter.
A few months later, he got to repay the favor on the baseball diamond. Mott hit a moonshot solo home run to right field, one of five runs for fifth-seeded Gonzaga Prep in a 5-2 win over the top-seeded Bombers in the 4A state tournament semifinals in Everett on Friday.
No. 1 Richland, the tournament favorite, has lost three games this spring. Two of the losses have come in the past two weeks. Both have come against Gonzaga Prep.
“They ended our season and we got to end their season,” Mott said. “I think all of us believed. We knew that they were the No. 1 seed and knew we were the underdog, but we felt like we should be the favorite and we were able to get the win. I think we’re one of the hottest teams in the state right now. One more.”
The Bullpups jumped on the Bombers from the start, when a Jacob Wilson single drove in a run in the first inning. An Anthony Karis single scored another in the second. In the third, Jackson Mott hit a monster home run over the 345-foot tall right field wall before a Jaxon Buckner RBI single made it 4-1.
“I kind of saw it just keep getting closer to the wall,” Mott said of watching his home run soar out to right field. “I was wondering if it was gonna leave and it did. We had energy and we kept it through and we were able to get the win.”
A run scored on a wild pitch made it 5-1 in the fourth inning. Richland added another run late but couldn’t close the gap enough.
Dylan Croall had a strong outing on the mound for the Bullpups. His line: seven innings, six hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and five strikeouts.
Richland will play Kamiakin in the third/fourth place consolation game, 10 a.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Gonzaga Prep will face Sumner in the championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday.
