LACEY — Nine weeks ago, 65 days to be exact, the Northwest Christian Wolverines trailed the Wahkiakum Mules 12-8 in the bottom of the seventh inning of their season opener at the Regional Athletic Complex.
The Wolverines, dressed in black and teal uniforms with white pants, gave up a seven-run inning late in the game to the Mules, who donned red pinstriped uniforms with black hats, and needed a big comeback in the bottom of the seventh.
Northwest Christian rallied to score five runs in the final frame, and Jack Vahey’s RBI single served as the walk-off hit in a thrilling 13-12 Wolverines victory.
Fast forward 65 days later to Tuesday night and crank up the stakes a bit. The two teams met again on the same turf field, this time in the Class 1B State Tournament opening round.
The Wolverines, dressed in the same garb as the first meeting, gave up a seven-run inning late in the game to the Mules, also donning the exact same uniforms, and needed a big comeback in the bottom of the seventh.
In the final inning on March 16, Wolverines senior Bennett Hall led off the frame against pitcher Cooper Carlson and started the rally with a hit by pitch.
In the final inning on May 19, Hall once again led off the frame against Carlson and started the rally with a walk.
Had enough of the freaky deja vu? Wahkiakum certainly did, too.
Trailing 9-3 with its season hanging in the balance, Northwest Christian couldn’t quite find that same magic to dig out of the hole. The Wolverines scored three runs in the seventh but ultimately fell 9-6 to Wahkiakum, ending a remarkable season that saw the program reach its first state tournament in 12 years.
“The feeling was definitely there,” Northwest Christian head coach Jordan Potis said of the seventh-inning deja vu. “All you can ask for is that these guys give their best effort and that they compete to the very last pitch, and that’s what they did. You’ve got to be happy with that.”
Wahkiakum, just as it did in the first matchup two months ago, scored the first run in the top of the first inning. Parker Leitz caught the Wolverines napping by stealing home from third base after reaching base with a walk. But, unlike the first game when Northwest Christian immediately took the lead with a three-run bottom of the first, the Wolverines struggled offensively against Mules starter Aiden Scott. The southpaw didn’t give up his first hit until the third stanza.
Wolverines ace Marshall Guyer, who also started on the mound in the season opener, was dealing after giving up the run in the first inning. In both the second and third innings, he stranded multiple runners and piled up the strikeouts, ultimately finishing with eight total. But after an error on a ground ball that would’ve ended the fifth inning, Scott extended the lead with an RBI double to make it 2-0 Mules.
It appeared the Wolverines’ breakthrough inning was finally coming in the bottom of the fifth, as they loaded the bases with one out. Northwest Christian only got one run out of it from a bases-loaded walk by Guyer.
The Wolverines had another chance to strike in the same scenario one inning later. With the bases juiced and one out in the sixth, Luke Nickel was hit by a pitch to bring in the tying run, and Vahey walked to score the go-ahead run. Northwest Christian left the bases loaded, however, as Guyer lined out for the final out.
Given that Guyer’s pitch count was up to 104, Northwest Christian opted to insert Parker Cox into the game needing three outs to secure a 3-2 win and send the Wolverines to the state quarterfinals.
When he finally got that third out, it was a whole different ballgame.
Wahkiakum erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh. The Mules’ first three batters reached, and a walk with the bases loaded tied the game. Josh Moon lined a triple down the left-field line to clear the bases and give the Mules a 6-3 lead. After the Wolverines turned a clutch double play, Wahkiakum racked up five straight hits to tally three more runs.
“You’ve got to give credit to the other guys. They were squaring everything up. They were hitting the ball hard,” Potis said of the seventh inning.
The magical seventh inning against Wahkiakum nine weeks ago was an experience that proved to Northwest Christian that it could compete with and defeat powerhouse teams against all odds, as the Mules had been a state quarterfinal team the season prior.
But nine weeks later, the Wolverines found themselves needing to replicate that same magic in order to keep their season alive and to prevent the Mules from returning to the state quarterfinals.
Hall worked a four-pitch walk against Carlson and advanced to third after a wild pitch and a groundout by Cox. Jadon Dillingham came up clutch with an RBI single to cut the margin to five, and Kanakoa Paresa singled. Spence Coleman delivered an RBI single to center field to score Paresa, and a throw by Wahkiakum trying to throw Dillingham out at third base sailed, allowing Dillingham to score.
But Myles McLain flew out and Nickel struck out, cutting the Wolverines’ rally short in a season-ending loss. Northwest Christian finished with a 12-7 record in a season that saw the Wolverines snap a 12-year drought from the state tournament and reach their first district title game since 2008.
Potis, who was a member of the team when the Wolverines won a state championship in 2009, credited the team’s three seniors Vahey, Cox and Hall for building upon the team’s successes over the years.
“These guys meant a lot to the program, and it’s weird to even think about what the team looks like without them next year,” Potis said of the seniors. “You just hope that this is something that these guys take with them into the offseason, that taste of success, to really motivate them and keep them hungry for more.”
Northwest Christian will return its top pitcher and hitter in Guyer next season, along with contributors such as McLain, Nickel, Dillingham, Paresa and Coleman.
“Despite the fact that we’re going to miss our three seniors, I like the way things could potentially shape up for us next year,” Potis said. “I feel like we have a good foundation of leadership.”
