5/26/2026
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 this week.
For the 2A state baseball tournament, we might not see new champions as the #1 Bainbridge Spartans are back into the semifinals after outscoring their regional opponents 13-2. #2 Tumwater made it through to the semis as well with a couple of shutouts during regionals and only allowing three total hits in 14 innings. The upsets happened after that as perennial contender in #11 Selah had a dramatic comeback win to upset #3 Othello while the better seed lost all three games in Spokane as #13 Orting defeated #4 West Valley and #12 Sehome to move to the semis. Bainbridge and Tumwater have won three of the last four 2A baseball titles while Orting has not been to the semifinals since 1977 and Selah are in the semifinals for the third time in the last four years.
Below are the regional 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
2A Semifinals @ Joe Martin Field (Bellingham)
Friday, May 29th
#11 Selah vs. #2 Tumwater, 10am First Pitch
#13 Orting vs. #1 Bainbridge, 1pm First Pitch
2A Regional Round
Saturday, May 23rd
Othello Regional
Othello 1, Chief Sealth 0 (10 Innings)
Selah 8, Columbia River 0
Selah 8, Othello 7 (Yakima Herald Republic)
Centralia Regional (Wheeler Field)
Tumwater 7, Port Angeles 0 (Coverage Below)
Nathan Hale 4, Ellensburg 3 (Coverage Below)
Tumwater 5, Nathan Hale 0 (Coverage Below)
Spokane Regional (Shadle Park HS)
Orting 5, West Valley (Spokane) 1
Sehome 7, WF West 6
Orting 14, Sehome 3
Bainbridge Regional
Fife 7, Lynden 5
Bainbridge 8, Pullman 2 (Meegan M. Reid, Kitsap Sun)
Bainbridge 5, Fife 0 (Jeff Graham, Kitsap Sun)
Tumwater 7, Port Angeles 0
(Centralia, WA) In a rematch of last year’s state tournament in which Port Angeles ended Tumwater’s season, the two met again as Port Angeles looked to repeat their previous success and Tumwater looking for revenge. In the end though, only one team can advance. The T-Birds come in as the two seed in the bracket and Port Angeles the #15 seed as both looked to make their way to the semifinals of the state tournament.
Jimmy Womach would start things on the mound for Tumwater and didn’t take long before he got going. The only runners reaching base were due to errors but were left stranded as Womach delivered three strikeouts to get out of the top of the first. Tumwater would respond with two runs in the first inning as Luke Overbay would be walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Jimmy Womach would then get a RBI single to drive in Overbay. Charlie Crawford would also get an RBI double the next at bat to get an early 2-0 lead. Jimmy Womach would continue to deal in the second with only one runner getting one base but would be left stranded as Tumwater would be due up to bat once again. In the bottom of the second Tumwater would add three more runs as the bats stayed hot. After a walk to Konrad Blake and a single from Henry Arthur, Kade Acker sliced a ball into right field for a two run RBI triple. Luke Overbay would then get an RBI off of an error. Tumwater led 5-0 going into the third inning.
Both teams couldn’t produce much offensively but the pitching and defense remained solid as the third went scoreless for both teams. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that the next run would be scored for Tumwater. Peyton Davis would be walked and get to second on a stolen base before reaching home on an errant throw to add another run for the T-Birds. At this point in the game both teams had found their groove defensively. Womach worked through the lineup of Port Angeles striking out many of the batters across from him while the defense for the Rough Riders would hold Tumwater scoreless and hitless until the sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Jett Hopton would reach on an error followed by an RBI single from Peyton Davis on a dropped ball to bring the game to 7-0.
Tumwater just needed three outs to advance to the quarterfinals, and they did just that with Braeden Konrad coming in to close the show for the Thunderbirds. Konrad delivered two strikeouts out of the three outs and Tumwater would walk away with the victory to face the winner of Nathan Hale and Ellensburg. The Thorbeckes’ MVP of the game went to Jimmy Womach who dominated the game on the bump for Tumwater as well as having an RBI in the game as well. Womach’s day on the mound was one of the biggest factors in this win for the T-Birds as well as getting it done with the bat.
Notable Performances
Tumwater:
- Jimmy Womach – 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 Ks
- Kade Acker – 1-2, 2 RBI, BB, (Triple)
- Charlie Crawford – 2-3, RBI
Port Angeles:
- Kody Williams – 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 BB
- Brayden Martin – 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 Ks
- Ian Smithson – 1-3 (Double)
ESN Postgame Show
Game Highlights
Crawford RBI Double
Acker Two-Run Triple
Waddell Diving Catch
Nathan Hale 4, Ellensburg 3
(Centralia, WA) In game two in Centralia, the #10 Ellensburg Bulldogs traveled west to battle the #7 Nathan Hale Raiders. A dominant program in the 2010s, winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 but a very tough CWAC had kept them from getting to the tourney too often since then. For Nathan Hale, they would be making just their third state tournament appearance in baseball in school history and would look to net their first win since 1980.
Julian Gonzalez got the start on the mound for Nathan Hale opposite of Carter Peone for Ellensburg. Peone would double with two outs but Gonzalez got Easton Armstrong looking to strand two in scoring position in the top of the 1st. Eliot Jennings recorded a double for Nathan Hale to leadoff the home half of the 1st to set the table for the Raiders. He moved up on a groundout by Julian Gonzalez but back-to-back strikeouts by Peone kept it scoreless as both pitchers got out of 1st inning trouble.
A two-out walk and hit batter were stranded in the top of the 2nd on a terrific sliding catch by Josh Earlywine in center to keep things scoreless while Peone followed with a clean 1-2-3 2nd. Peone would then double again with one out in the 3rd to get into scoring position. Jake Snow cashed in with an RBI single to right to give Ellensburg the first run of the game. Another single by Easton Armstrong followed and Ty Breinholt moved the runners up to second and third with two outs. An error brought home another run followed by an RBI single for Wyatt Green to make it 3-0 Bulldogs through three innings of play.
Nathan Hale got something going in the bottom of the 4th after Julian Gonzales was hit by a pitch and an error allowed Lando Laru to reach with nobody out. After a strikeout, Jack Dire roped a double down the left field line to bring home Gonzalez and get Nathan Hale on the board with runners on second and third and still just one out. Josh Earlywine then got it done at the plate as well with a two-run single and just like that the game was tied at 3-3 moving into the 5th.
Another sliding catch by Earlywine allowed Gonzalez to retire the side in order in the top of the 5th. Nathan Hale would play a little small ball in the bottom of the 5th after a leadoff single by Sean LeMoine. Eliot Jennings moved him up with a sacrifice bunt before Julian Gonzalez got him to third with a groundout to second. With a runner on third and two outs, Lando Laru clutched up with an RBI single to right field, bringing home LeMoine and giving Nathan Hale their first lead of the day over Ellensburg, 4-3 going to the 6th.
Jake Snow took over on the mound for Ellensburg in the bottom of the 6th and the Raiders jumped on him. Singles by Josh Earlywine and Kai Drohan put runners on second and third with one out. A terrific catch behind the plate by Wyatt Green recorded a second out for Ellensburg and they were able toe escape the jam with a grounder to second to keep the score 4-3 as we moved to the 7th and final inning.
Jack Dire came on to try to close things out for Nathan Hale in the top of the 7th after a strong outing by Julian Gonzalez. He set the tone by striking out Carter Peone to being the inning before Jake Snow grounded out to Sean LeMoine at short who made yet another terrific play for the Raiders. One out away, Nathan Hale was able to put this one away as Dire got Easton Armstrong to fly out to Josh Earlywine in center. Four unanswered runs gave Nathan Hale their first state baseball win since 1980, as they defeated Ellensburg 4-3.
Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Josh Earlywine for Nathan Hale. The center fielder made two terrific sliding catches as well as a handful of running catches where he didn’t have to leave his feet. At the plate, Earlywine went 2-3 with a couple of runs batted in on a game-tying single for the Raiders in their comeback win.
The win sent Nathan Hale into the state quarterfinals for a matchup with #2 Tumwater on Saturday at 4pm. Ellensburg would see their season come to an end after a return to state after a couple year hiatus.
Notable Performances
Ellensburg
- Carter Peone- 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 2-3, 2 2B, R, BB
- Jake Snow- 2-4, RBI, R
- Wyatt Green- 1-2, RBI, BB
Nathan Hale
- Josh Earlywine- 2-3, 2 RBI, Terrific Defense
- Jack Dire- 1-3, 2B, RBI
- Julian Gonzalez- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
ESN Postgame Show
Game Highlights
Wyatt Green RBI Single
Nathan Hale Ties it Up
Laru Go-Ahead Single
Tumwater 5, Nathan Hale 0
(Centralia, WA) The third and final game on Saturday at Wheeler Field would decide who made it to Joe Martin Field in Bellingham for the 2A semifinals. #2 Tumwater came in off of a shutout of Port Angeles and looked to get to the semifinals for the first time since winning back-to-back state titles in 2022 and 2023. For the #7 Nathan Hale Raiders, they had a comeback win to defeat Ellensburg 4-3 and were looking to get to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
Luke Overbay would start on the mound for the Thunderbirds to face the top of Nathan Hale’s line-up. It only took three pitches to get the first two outs and struck out the third shortly after for a one-two-three inning to open the game for the T-Birds. On the other end, Kai Malloch would be on the bump for Nathan Hale. A similar story for the Raiders with two quick outs including a strikeout but a hit-by-pitch would send Luke Overbay to first base. A groundout though would end the inning with both teams going scoreless through one.
In the second, PJ Sale would lead off with a single for the Raiders before a Luke Overbay strikeout. Josh Earlywine would then reach on an error to put runners on the corners. Earlywine would then get to second off a steal which would be followed by a walk to Kai Drohan to load the bases. Isaiah Rodriguez then on a short infield groundball would get the lead runner out and save a run for Tumwater. Then, in a short hit up the middle, center fielder Peyton Davis made a diving catch to save another set of runs for Nathan Hale as the bases are left loaded with no runs scored. In the bottom of the second, Liam Gustafson would draw a walk which then turned into two runners on boards after a bunt from Wyatt Chase with two outs. Runners would be left stranded though as Malloch would retire the side.
Luke Overbay would deliver another one-two-three inning including a strikeout to send his team back to the batter’s box in the third. Kai Malloch would deliver a quick two outs with a strikeout as well, but Luke Overbay delivered a triple with two outs to put him in scoring position for Tumwater. Malloch would get the strikeout for the third out though and yet another scoreless inning for both teams. Overbay in the fourth would get a strike out looking to lead off but would walk Jack Dire to put a runner on for the Raiders. Dire would steal second and attempted to steal third but would be thrown out by Jimmy Womach to end the half inning.
Charlie Crawford would lead off the bottom of the fourth with a single followed by Liam Gustafson reaching on an error to put runners on first and second with no outs. Max Bunn would then drive in the first run of the game for Tumwater with an RBI double. Wyatt Chase followed this up with an RBI double of his own for the T-Birds. Henry Arthur continued the onslaught with a two run RBI to bring the score to 4-0. Nathan Hale would get the three outs soon after, but damage would already be done by Tumwater. Overbay got right back to work in the fifth inning with two straight strikeouts and would get the third out shortly after to get Tumwater back up to the plate. Jack Dire would come into pitch in the fifth and get two quick outs before Liam Gustafson hit a single into left field. He would be left stranded though for a scoreless fifth inning.
Luke Overbay and the Tumwater defense would retire three straight once again in just six pitches to get right back to the plate on offense. With two outs, Peyton Davis launched a ball into left field for a double and Jett Hopton would come inn to pinch run. Kade Acker would drive Hopton home with an RBI double in the next at bat. Tumwater would go into the seventh inning leading 5-0 and only needed three outs to send themselves to the semifinals. They would get the outs in short order helped by great defensive play from Isaiah Rodriguez and the strikeout to end it all from Luke Overbay. Tumwater wins 5-0 and sends themselves to the semifinals at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham.
Luke Overbay took home the Thorbecks’ MVP of the game award with an absolutely dominant performance with the shutout and only allowing one hit over seven innings as well as getting it done in the batter’s box as well. The future Michigan Wolverine carved through his opponents with ease and led his team to the semifinals of the 2A state tournament.
Notable Performances
Nathan Hale
- PJ Sale- 1-3
- Kai Malloch- 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Tumwater
- Luke Overbay- 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 1-2, 3B, 2 BB
- Wyatt Chase- 2-3, 2B, RBI, R
- Henry Arthur- 1-3, 2 RBI
ESN Postgame Show
Game Highlights
Davis Sliding Catch
Tumwater Breaks Through
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