4/3/26

(Chehalis, WA) For the first time since 2018, the Kelso Hilanders and WF West Bearcats met on the diamond for a 2A vs. 3A baseball showdown at Bearcat Stadium on Friday afternoon. One last game before Spring Break gave the two teams an opportunity to try to head into the week off with some extra momentum and the good vibes of a win.

Kelso came into the game with a 5-3 record after dropping a game to Camas on Monday to end their winning streak. The Hilanders would look to correct course in their first trip to the newly turfed Bearcat Stadium.

WF West dropped their season opener, also to Camas, but have since rattled off six wins in a row, including a 3-0 stretch in league play. The Bearcats took the field for the third time this week as they held off Centralia on Tuesday 10-7 before a rainout Wednesday forced their road game back a day where the Bearcats got a dominant 13-2 win.

WF West 13, Kelso 1 (5 Innings)

Connor Coleman started this game on about as high of a note as one could imagine. He retired the side in order in the top of the 1st with a strikeout. Wyatt Hoffman reached on an error to begin the bottom half before moving up on a sacrifice bunt by Hiroto Smaciarz and a groundout by Alex Stafford. With a runner on third and two outs, Coleman came to the plate and sent a very high fly ball out to right field. Nobody seemed to think it was leaving but the ball just carried and carried all the way out for a two-run shot. Coleman was doing it all early as his homer put WF West on the board with a 2-0 lead.

Kelso would get a walk in the 2nd before Blake Larwick sat the Bearcats down in order in the home half. In the 3rd, Kelso would get a threat going at the plate. A walk by Kenny Doble was followed by a base hit by Miles Franett to put two on with nobody out for the top of the order. Bryce Collins reached on a hard hit line drive to load the bases with nobody out. Coleman got Carter Huntley to strikeout but Blake Larwick helped himself out with a sacrifice fly to center to get Kelso on the board. They had to settle for one, but cut their deficit down to just 2-1.

Wyatt Hoffman reached to begin an inning again with a base hit to right and moved up to second on an error. A pickoff attempt resulted in another Kelso error to push the sophomore to third and he would score on an RBI single by Hiroto Smaciarz. The speedy Smaciarz then stole second and scored on an RBI single by Alex Stafford to extend the lead. Kelso did a great job of cutting down Stafford as he tried to move up to second on a throw to the plate and that seemed to shutdown the inning for WF West but the lead was up to 4-1.

Coleman escaped a bases loaded jam in the 4th and then the Bearcats blew this one open. A single by Beckman Dvorak was followed by a single by Hayden Rooney. Gage Wiens reached with a perfect bunt down the third base line to load the bases with nobody out. Reece Marquez blooped in an RBI single before Hoffman reached on another error to bring in another run. A walk for Hiroto Smaciarz brought home another run and kept the bases loaded. Alex Stafford singled to move everyone up 90-feet and ended Larwick’s day on the mound as Trey Snow took over. He would not be able to stop Connor Coleman either as he doubled in two more before Dvorak had his own RBI double. Hayden Rooney one-upped them with a two-run triple to make it 13-1.

Kelso would still get a highlight from the bottom of the 4th. With a man on third and just one out, Gage Wiens smoked a line drive out to center. Bryce Collins almost overran it in center but made a leaping catch on an adjustment for the out. Rooney tried to tag and score but Collins showed why he is headed to Ole Miss with an SEC-caliber throw to the plate to cut down Rooney and end the inning as Miles Franett tagged him out at the plate. It was a nine-run, eight-hit inning for the Bearcats as they took a commanding 13-1 lead.

With three outs to get so send the Bearcats home early with a win, Wyatt Hoffman took over on the mound to try to close things out. He wasted no time at all, needing only nine pitches to retire the Hilanders in order. WF West made it seven consecutive wins with a dominant performance and a third consecutive double-digit scoring output with a 13-1 win over a good Kelso squad.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Connor Coleman who had a game that would make Shohei Ohtani proud. On the mound, Coleman went four innings and allowed just the one run on one hit while walking four and striking out five for the Bearcats. At the plate, the lefty had an even better day going 2-3 with a double and home run, driving in four runs, and scoring two more. The senior was a dual-threat for the Bearcats on Friday afternoon and put together one of his best all-around performances of the season.

WF West moves to 7-1 on the season and run their winning streak to seven games after losing their season opener. The Bearcats will not have all of Spring Break off as they return to action on Thursday at noon for a non-league game with a familiar foe in Rochester. Kelso falls to 5-4 on the season and will get one extra day of rest as they host Mount Tahoma on Friday at 4:30pm as they look to snap a two-game skid.

Notable Performances

Kelso

WF West

• Connor Coleman- 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO, 2-3, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Hayden Rooney- 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI, R
• Wyatt Hoffman- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2-3, RBI, 3 R

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show

Highlights

Coleman Two-Run Homer

Rooney Two-Run Triple

Collins Double Web Gem

elisportsnetwork.com