5/31/2025
As we come to the end of May, we are now into the thick of things for State Baseball and we will crown new state champions in just under a week.
For the 2A state baseball tournament, we are guaranteed to crown new state champions after Columbia River was eliminated in districts. For the first time since 2019, the 2A baseball champion will not be from District 4 as Anacortes returns to the final four while Selah, Bainbridge, and Othello all make their way to Bellingham in this year’s tournament.
Below are the semifinal matchups, link to State Bracket and as the tournament rolls on we will post the most recent games and coverage at the top of the story. We will cover our games and try to find additional coverage from other media groups and link their stories and coverage to those that we find. For a complete list of the live broadcasts by Eli Sports on the NFHS Network go to our Broadcast Schedule page and links to the games and broadcasts ESN covers will be included.
Here is our tournament coverage for 2A below.
2A State Baseball Tournament
Trophy Round @ Joe Martin Field (Bellingham)
Saturday, May 31st
Othello 3, Selah 1 (Third Place)
Bainbridge 3, Anacortes 0 (Championship)
2A Semifinals @ Joe Martin Field (Bellingham)
Friday, May 30th
Bainbridge 2, Selah 0
Anacortes 3, Othello 0
2A Regional Round
Saturday, May 24th
Archer Field (Selah) Regional
Selah 3, Cedarcrest 0
Port Angeles 6, Tumwater 4 (10 Innings) (Peninsula Daily News) (The Chronicle)
Selah 9, Port Angeles 5 (Michael Ambrose of The Yakima Herald-Republic)
Bainbridge High School Regional
Bainbridge 8, Fife 1
Archbishop Murphy 6, Nathan Hale 2
Bainbridge 6, Archbishop Murphy 2 (The Kitsap Sun)
Bearcat Stadium (Chehalis) Regional
WF West 2, Chief Sealth 0 (Coverage Below)
Othello 4, RA Long 1 (Coverage Below)
Othello 14, WF West 8 (Coverage Below)
Daniels Field (Anacortes) Regional
Anacortes 9, Aberdeen 7 (Nick Zeller-Singh of Cascadia Daily)
North Kitsap 7, East Valley (Yakima) 1 (
Anacortes 5, North Kitsap 4 (Skagit Valley Herald)
Game Recaps
Chehalis Regional Coverage
(Chehalis, WA) The newly turfed field at Bearcat Stadium made its regional debut on Saturday as four 2A programs made the trek to the Mint City. #4 WF West would host #13 Chief Sealth in the opener and the winner of that one would take on the winner of #12 RA Long against #5 Othello later in the day.
WF West 2, Chief Sealth 0 (Game 1)
In their first season in 2A after dropping down from 3A, the Chief Sealth Seahawks found themselves in the postseason and a chance to make a statement as the #13 seed against regional host and #4 seed WF West.
Pitching was a big key for Chief Sealth all season and their ace Sam Popelka would look to quiet down a tough lineup for WF West. A couple of early mistakes on the basepaths hurt the Seahawks in each of the first two innings. They would have a runner thrown out at third in both the first two frames, one when a runner tried to move up on a wild pitch and one on a missed squeeze attempt. Both were thrown out by Bearcat catcher Deacon Meller whose arm was dialed in right out of the gate.
In the bottom of the 2nd, WF West would put some pressure on the Chief Sealth lefty. A one out infield single by Alex Stafford put a runner on before Beckman Dvorak drew a walk to put two runners on. A double steal moved Stafford to third and Dvorak to second with Miles Martin at the plate. Martin would get jammed and sent a soft fly ball down the right field line. It would sit just fair and hopped by the right fielder. Stafford and Dvorak both scored as Martin slid into third with a two-run triple. Popelka would leave Martin stranded but WF West had grabbed a 2-0 lead.
Defense continued to shine for WF West in the 3rd. A leadoff walk to Seth Clark was erased as Clark was thrown out by Meller trying to steal second for Meller’s third putout of the game. Nolan Vanbuskirk would draw a walk as well to bring Teo Perala to the plate. Perala shot a hard grounder on the left side of the infield, but a diving stop by Weston Potter turned it into a fielder’s choice as Potter erased Vanbuskirk at second for the second out. Hayden Rooney would then get Peter Sketchley to also ground into a fielder’s choice to preserve the shutout for WF West.
Sam Popelka gave up three hits in the first three innings and that was it. The lefty was locked in after escaping a jam in the 3rd and went three up, three down in the 4th and 5th innings. Only four balls were hit into the outfield off of Popelka but he did run into some trouble in the 6th. A hit batter and a walk to Alex Stafford put two runners on with one out. Beckman Dvorak would hit a rocket right at first baseman Peter Sketchley who would catch it and then tag first for the double play. Popelka did his part with some defensive help as he went six innings of two run ball with just three hits allowed and three walks with one strikeout. The lefty gave the offense a chance in the 7th to try to complete the comeback.
After Rooney went 5 2/3 scoreless innings, Emmett Goodman came on to finish things off including pitching the 7th. An error put Nevin Pivar on to leadoff the inning as he made it to second on the errant throw. Seth Clark then walked to put the tying run on with nobody out. A strikeout of Vanbuskirk would settle Goodman down a bit. Teo Perala would then send a grounder to Potter at third and the Bearcats went around the horn for a 5-4-3 double play to end it. WF West had fought off a very strong Chief Sealth team with a 2-0 victory to keep their season alive.
Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Deacon Meller for WF West. The senior catcher erased three baserunners from behind the plate and also reached base twice, once via a walk and once after being hit by a pitch.
Highlights
Postgame Show
Miles Martin Two-Run Triple
Defense Shines for WF West
Chief Sealth Escapes Trouble
Othello 4, RA Long 1 (Game Two)
In game two of the Chehalis regional, the #5 seed in the Othello Huskies made the long trip west to take on the #12 seed RA Long, who did not have to travel far for the regional matchup. Othello’s only four losses to 2A teams came to teams in the 2A state tournament while RA Long was the lone team out of the GSHL 2A to qualify for state.
Both teams recorded leadoff singles before both Sonny Salazar and Riley Young recorded a couple of strikeouts in the 1st. In the top of the 2nd, Hunter Brewer sent what looked like a harmless fly ball to left. The ball would be dropped and Brewer reached second on the error to put the leadoff man in scoring position. A wild pitch moved Brewer to third before Jonah Cadigan brought him home with a sacrifice fly to right to give RA Long the 1-0 lead.
Salazar and Young would both strand two runners in the 3rd but in the bottom of the 4th, the Huskies would finally get to the Lumberjacks lefty. A one-out walk put RJay Garza on and he would move up to second on a passed ball. After getting Quade Gonzalez to fly out to right for the second out, Riley Young couldn’t retire Ryan Martinez who drew a walk to put another runner on and extend the inning. Zayvier Olazcon would clutch up for Othello with a base with to drive in Garza. The two-out knock got Othello on the board and tied the game at 1-1.
Despite leaving the game with the score tied, Riley Young pitched very well for RA Long on Saturday. The lefty went four innings and allowed just the one run on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Young was aggressive in pitching in the zone but the one clutch hit helped Othello negate Young’s fantastic start.
With Jonah Cadigan on the mound in relief of Young, the game remained tied into the bottom of the 6th. Then the Huskies made their big move. A one-out walk to Quade Gonzalez and a double by Ryan Martinez put runners on second and third for Zayvier Olazcon again. He would send a grounder to Nick Niday who could only make sure Gonzalez stayed at third with no play at first. That loaded the bases for pinch hitter Jaxon Gomez who slapped a single to center. While Gonzalez would score, Hunter Brewer would throw out Ryan Martinez at the plate to keep the score 2-1. However, Jordan Montemayor would break things open with a big RBI double to make it 4-1 Othello going into the 7th.
Sonny Salazar couldn’t throw a complete game, but he was outstanding for Othello. The senior shined on Saturday in his 6 1/3 innings of work. After walking Jonah Cadigan to begin the 7th, Salazar would strikeout Robert Coughlin Wilson before exiting the game. Salazar finished with just one run allowed on three hits with three walks and nine strikeouts. Jordan Montemayor would enter and closed things out with strikeouts of Carson Libby and Jeffrey Rooklidge. Othello’s three-run 6th inning was enough to get the Huskies by RA Long, 4-1.
Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Sonny Salazar for his dominant outing on the mound in which he struck out nine batters in 6 1/3 innings of three hit and one-run ball.
Highlights
ESN Postgame Show
Cadigan Gives RA Long the Lead
Othello Ties it Up
Gomez Pinch Hit RBI Single
Othello 14, WF West 8 (Game 3, Regional Final)
One game remained on Saturday night with a spot in the 2A final four in Bellingham on the line. WF West walked off Othello 3-2 back on March 21st in the season opener for both teams. On Saturday, two months after that meeting the Bearcats and Huskies met in a rematch, this time with both teams seasons on the line. It was worth the wait as the teams played one of the craziest games of regional weekend.
Grady Westlund pitched around a leadoff double in the 1st by Jordan Montemayor and he was rewarded by his offense in the home half. A single by Deacon Meller and Ross Kelley along with an error had the first two on the corners for WF West. Weston Potter chopped a grounder to shortstop and Montemayor tried to cut down courtesy runner Tucker Land at the plate, but the throw was just late, giving WF West the early 1-0 lead. Potter then moved up to second to put two in scoring position and Carlos Vallejo brought them both home with a two-run single. Aiden Garza would strand the bases loaded, but the damage had been done with WF West leading 3-0.
Othello left two more in scoring position in the 2nd while WF West started at the top of the order in the bottom of the 2nd. A double by Deacon Meller and single by Ross Kelley along with a stolen base had runners on second and third with nobody out. Once again Weston Potter came through to open up the lead. A two-run single gave Potter RBI number two and three on the day and made it 5-0 Bearcats. Othello would turn a big double play to help stop the bleeding, which ended up being a little bit of a turning point for the Huskies.
Othello finally broke through in the top of the 3rd and chased Westlund out of the game early. A double with one out by Xzyyvn Martinez and a single by Sonny Salazar put two runners on for cleanup hitter RJay Garza. Being the great technical hitter that he is, Garza smacked a base hit to bring in Martinez and get Othello on the board. A groundout to third was the second out but the Huskies clutched up. Both Ryan Martinez and Zayvier Olazcon came through with two-out RBI singles and Othello was back in the game, trailing 5-3.
WF West got that run back despite having Miles Martin thrown out at the plate in the 3rd. Hiroto Smaciarz hit into the fielder’s choice that erased Martin at the plate, but used his speed to steal second. Smaciarz then stole third and the throw by Ryan Martinez got up the left field line allowing Smaciarz to score to make it 6-3. Othello’s #9 hitter did some damage too with a leadoff triple by Kal-El Ozuna followed by sacrifice fly by Jordan Montemayor to get that run back for the Huskies, still trailing 6-4.
The game was flipped on its head in the top of the 5th. The inning didn’t start great for Othello as after an RJay Garza walk, Quade Gonzalez was called out on batter’s interference to take away a Garza stolen base. Ryan Martinez would also walk before Mr. Clutch himself came up with another RBI. Zayvier Olazcon’s base hit brought home Garza to make it 6-4. With two outs, Superman came to the plate and was the hero once again for the Huskies. Kal-El Ozuna smacked a fly ball to left center field for another extra base hit. It was another triple for Ozuna and it brought home two runs. After trailing 5-0 early, Othello had come back to take a 7-6 lead.
That lead was threatened in the home half of the inning. After Alex Stafford reached on a single, Jordan Montemayor got Beckman Dvorak to fly out to center for the first out. Walks to Miles Martin and Connor Coleman loaded the bases with just one out. Head coach Sonny Garza went to the bullpen and brought in lefty Kal-El Ozuna to pitch. I won’t make another Superman pun here, but Ozuna saved the day again for Othello. Hiroto Smaciarz chopped one right back to Ozuna who started a 1-2-3 double play to escape the jam. Somehow, someway, Othello got out of the inning with their 7-6 lead still intact.
Othello got another run on a perfect hit-and-run as RJay Garza scored from first on an RBI single by Quade Gonzalez to make it 8-6 going into the bottom of the 6th. A couple of walks and a fielder’s choice had runners on first and second with one out for the Bearcats and things got a little weird. It looked like Ozuna had picked off Ross Kelley at second, but the home plate umpire called a balk to move the runners up to second and third with still one out. A sacrifice fly by Carlos Vallejo made it 8-7 while moving Weston Potter to third with two outs. A wild pitch would bring home Potter and he was called safe on a very close play at the plate and all of a sudden the game was tied at 8-8 going into the 7th and final inning.
Offensive explosion doesn’t begin to describe what Othello did in the 7th. A single, error, and hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out and Jordan Montemayor then put Othello in the lead with a base hit to right. That opened the floodgates. A sacrifice fly by Xzyyvn Martinez brought home another run, as did a wild pitch. RJay Garza was hit by a pitch to bring in another run while a sacrifice fly by Ryan Martinez and RBI single by Zayvier Olazcon broke things wide open. Six runs on four hits in the 7th inning gave Othello a 14-8 lead and that cushion was plenty for Xzyyvn Martinez who slammed the door in the 7th. Othello put together a fantastic performance with 14 runs coming on 16 hits in one of the best hitting performances you will see from a high school team. A dramatic and hard-fought game from both sides as Othello defeated WF West 14-8 in a great high school baseball game to send the Huskies to the state semifinals.
Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Superman himself in Kal-El Ozuna. Not only did he get out of a bases loaded jam with no damage being done, but Ozuna also went 2-3 with two triples and a hit by pitch along with two runs batted in and two runs scored. The guy at the bottom of the Othello order stepped up in a massive way time after time on Saturday and without him Othello might not pull off the comeback.
Highlights
ESN Postgame Show
Weston Potter Two-Run Single
Kal-El Ozuna Plays Superman for Othello
Othello Takes 7th Inning Lead
elisportsnetwork.com
