The Battle Ground Tigers outscored the Camas Papermakers 19-8 in a three-game sweep to begin their baseball journey in the 4A Greater St. Helens League for 2026.
The Tigers concluded the series with a bounceback 8-4 win after trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the second inning, as Battle Ground played as the home team at Camas High School for a matchup on a dry turf field.
Battle Ground senior and University of Washington commit James Gill III kicked off a second inning six-run rally, driving a groundball base hit to right field. Derek Gunderson followed up with a single down the third base line. Trenton Righter tacked on another single, reaching first base on a perfectly-placed bunt, leading to bases loaded with nobody out.
The string of singles was broken up by a pair of two-RBI doubles courtesy of Jacob Bryant and Kaleb Garland to take the lead, 4-3. Cruz Mahoney was then hit square in the back by a pitch, followed by Cooper McGowan and Dayton Mahoney walking, which scored Jackson Sahli, who came in as a courtesy runner for Garland.
The batting order completely flipped over back to Gill III. He added a sixth run in the inning with a sacrifice fly to center field.
“Great, because that’s what we’ve been needing all year,” Gill III said of the bottom half of the batting order stringing together a rally.
Gill III added that the success of the bottom half of the lineup was a huge help as the Tigers entered the series with a playoff mindset.
Collin McGowan overcame the rocky start to the game to finish four strong innings after the Tigers gained a second inning lead.
“I mean, I know he has it in him,” Gill III said of sophomore Collin McGowan’s strong finish on the mound. “He’s a great player. I think just having the pressure as young as he is, he’ll be just fine. Him and his brother are going to be the best players in this league.”
Older brother Cooper McGowan came in to finish off the last three innings on the mound, giving up just the one and final run in the top of the seventh inning.
Gill III hit his second home run of the season during the Tigers’ 8-3 win on Wednesday, April 15. Gill III ended up launching a second home run against Camas during Thursday’s win. The two-run blast provided some extra cushion for Battle Ground in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“Thankfully, I’m back to hitting good,” Gill III said of his second home run hitting the trees beyond the Camas fence last week. “I mean, I was at a hard spot for a little bit. But I am feeling it now.”
The Tigers entered the first week of league play in the 4A GSHL as a consensus No. 1 team in class 4A baseball for the state of Washington. Prior to the beginning of the season, not one ranking included Battle Ground in a conversation for top spots. Now, the Tigers have bounced off to a quick 3-0 league start.
“We’re here to prove a point,” Gill III said. “We’re here to come get that league title.”
The Tigers now enter a critical three-game series against the Skyview Storm to keep their momentum alive. At the same time as last week’s sweep of Camas, the Union Titans performed a three-game sweep over the Storm.
Battle Ground was slated to play a home game against the Skyview Storm on Monday, April 20, but results were unavailable at press time. The Tigers are scheduled to face off against the Storm on the road on Wednesday, April 22, at 4:30 p.m., weather allowing, as well as a 4:30 p.m. home game slated to conclude the league series on Thursday, April 23.
