The La Center Wildcats baseball team was already guaranteed its best ever finish in school history when it punched a ticket to the semifinal round in the 1A state tournament.
In the championship game at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham, the Wildcats fell short, 5-4, in a loss to Bellevue Christian on Saturday, May 31. The Wildcats battled to get within a run in the bottom of the sixth inning after going down 5-1 in the top of the fifth inning.
Wildcat pitching only gave up two earned runs in the loss, with Austin Aseph and Gunnar Shockelt on the mound. Aseph and Shockelt combined to give up just four hits.
Shockelt got the nod to start the game, going four innings and giving up three hits and two runs, with one earned, and striking out three while walking two Bellevue Christian batters. Aseph came in for three innings giving up three runs, one earned, while striking out four and walking two on just one hit.
At the plate, Will Anderson led the Wildcats in the title game with two base hits and an RBI.
To get to the championship game, La Center used their ace, Justin Fuller, in the 3-0 win over Charles Wright/Life Christian on Friday, May 30. Fuller threw another complete game, giving up just one hit while striking out 10 and walking three. The Wildcats completed the semifinal game with just no errors, but the error-bug caught them in the title game as both La Center and Bellevue Christian had three errors in the game.
The Wildcats closed their history-making season with a record of 22-5.
