After a walk-off base hit in the round of 16 with a 5-4 win over Colville High School, the La Center Wildcats finished the day with a 3-0 win over Cashmere High School to advance to the semifinal round in the state baseball tournament for the first time in program history.
The Wildcats have found themselves in unfamiliar territory in the 1A State Tournament after their 3-0 win in the quarterfinals on Saturday, May 24, at Camas High School against the Cashmere Bulldogs.
La Center’s standout player Justin Fuller locked down the Cashmere offense as he hurled in a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts on two walks and just two hits on 85 total pitches. He also helped himself on offense in the bottom of the fourth inning, hitting a single, reaching second on an error and then stealing third. Wyatt Brannan hit a groundball and reached on an error, leading to Fuller scoring the would-be winning run.
The loudest moment of the game came from a crack of the bat by catcher Wyatt Eiesland as a moon-shot in the bottom of the sixth cleared the left field fence and gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead into the final half inning.
“It was absolutely electric,” Eiesland said. “Just as soon as it was off the bat, I knew it was going deep, and then just going around first base and high-fiving my coach, I mean, it was probably one of the best experiences of my entire high school career. Just being with the boys and celebrating, it was crazy.”
The Wildcats have played at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham before, but for the quarterfinal round last season. This time making the trip north will pack a whole new feeling being in the final four 1A baseball teams in the state as Joe Martin Stadium will host the final round on Friday, May 30, and Saturday, May 31.
“Honestly, we’ve never been there, so there’s a lot to look forward to,” Fuller said. “I just want to compete, right? We just want to compete, go down and see what we can do with the other teams.”
La Center’s head coach, Hunter Weiss, pointed out that this group of seniors has been working toward this moment for four years.
“This is something that the freshman class, who are now seniors, have been working for four years, and they’ve been to the state tournament every year, got bounced in the first round, lost two quarterfinals, and then now, you know, able to punch through,” Weiss said. “So it’s just a testament to how hard they work every day. They’re the type of kids that are hungry for extra reps and they want to get in the cages and they want to do the extra stuff that’s going to be the separator between them and the teams that are just OK. And so, yeah, just super proud of them.”
The Wildcats will face the Charles Wright/Life Christian baseball team in the 1A state semifinals at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 30. A win advances the team to the title game on Saturday, May 31, at 4 p.m. A loss sends La Center to the third/fourth place game at 10 a.m. on May 31.
