TUMWATER — It was a painful 2025 for Braeden Konrad. And it had nothing to do with the results on the field or his numbers.
The Tumwater High School senior battled a shoulder injury that he gutted out. One of his more notable performances came in the Class 2A District 4 championship against W.F. West, tossing four innings of one-run ball and five strikeouts in relief.
His shoulder ailments continued into the summer; no surgery was required.
“The last couple outings (last year), it was a sharp pain,” Konrad stated. “Honestly, this summer helped me get mentally tough.”
And while the pain has subsided, it didn’t make for a lights out start to his final prep season. He wiggled out of trouble several times – recording at least two walks in his first five appearances – but never allowed an earned run.
In a game the T-Birds needed for several reasons, Konrad dawned the cape on Tuesday night.
The right-hander allowed five hits and struck out 10 in just 91 pitches to lift Tumwater to a 3-1 victory against the Bearcats and create a tie atop the Evergreen Conference with one regular season game to go.
“I wasn’t surprised, I knew I’d come out and pitch a gem; I knew I had it in me,” Konrad said. “When you’re coming back from injury, it is always tough on the mind. I’m really happy with how far I’ve come.”
Since the T-Birds (16-4, 12-2 EvCo) claimed the season series, they have the tiebreaker for the league's top seed in the district tournament. All they need is to beat Shelton on Thursday to finalize it.
Still, the reigning district champs aren’t going to let the shiny sparkle of being No. 1 get in the way of repeating.
“We’re gonna have to play tough and really good baseball,” Tumwater head coach Lyle Overbay said. “Once you get to the playoffs, it doesn’t matter. Stick with our game.”
Konrad put a lot of self-doubt in the rearview mirror after his start versus Aberdeen on April 15. He labored through a three-plus inning outing with five walks on 70 pitches and only 32 were strikes.
He turned in a six-inning gem against Shelton six days later and in the biggest game to date, gave W.F. West its first losing streak of the spring. Most of his strikeouts came with his changeup, a new pitch into his arsenal.
Konrad got the lefty-heavy Bearcats swinging at pitches in the dirt numerous times.
“Once you throw that fastball down low then throw the changeup, you get that eye level (changing),” Konrad said. “It worked out.”
Twenty-four hours after seeing what Luke Overbay’s changeup looked like in Monday’s win, it was in the cards to see if Konrad’s changeup would produce similar results.
“BK can throw in a little bit too to get them off his changeup,” Coach Overbay said. “He really located (well). Being a hitter, the changeup is the hardest pitch to hit.”
Despite striking first on a double steal in the top of the first, W.F. West (17-3, 12-2) couldn’t break through again. It had runners in scoring position with two outs in the second, but Konrad won a 10-pitch battle with Wyatt Hoffman.
Then in the third, Gage Wiens laid down a two-out bunt and the throw by Luke Overbay was low and got by first baseman Jayden Stacy. Bearcats head coach Jesse Elam waved Alex Stafford home, the throw from T-Birds right fielder Liam Gustafson was in time and catcher Jimmy Womach tagged Stafford out to end the rally.
“If we play as a team, we can do things and pick each other up,” Coach Overbay said. “They have little jobs within themselves. Threw a perfect strike and that’s what was needed.”
Elam argued the call and was tossed.
“Maybe Jesse tried to get us fired up,” Bearcats assistant coach Jason Kelley said. “We swung at pitches we shouldn’t have. Get a guy throwing a lot of strikes, we got to take advantage of it.”
Tumwater loaded the bases in the third on an error, hit by pitch and a walk with one out. Konrad Blake tied the game with an RBI groundout and Stacy scored on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the fourth, Kelley thought the inning was over. It wasn’t.
Outfielder Hayden Rooney was under a fly ball that was in his glove, then on the grass. Three pitches later, Wyatt Chase roped a double to deep center to plate Stacy. All runs attached to Bearcat starter Emmett Goodman were unearned.
Kelley struggled with the words to describe the defensive miscues that plagued W.F. West in the last two contests.
“We’re gonna work on it practice,” he said. “It is playoff time. We have to move forward and forget about these games. We’re not defined by losing these games.”
Stafford had two hits for the Bearcats and a stolen base while Goodman gave up only the two hits and struck out four. They close the regular season on Thursday against Aberdeen for senior night.
Tumwater, winners of eight in a row, believe it is playing its best baseball right now. For a roster littered with seniors and a few talented juniors, the T-Birds are accustomed to playing deep into May.
The T-Birds are at least three wins away from being back in the 16-team state field.
“Coaches always remind us we have it in us and we showed it last week. We’ve been dialed in,” Konrad said. “We’re still a great team and we’re almost there.”
