On Saturday, May 21, on a soggy field in Castle Rock, Washington, the Vashon High School Pirate baseball team made school history, clinching a final four berth to the semi-final round of the state championships.

Emerging victorious in two rain-soaked games, the team punched their ticket for Yakima with a thrilling 5-3 win over Meridian and a decisive 10-5 win over Nooksack Valley.

Facing Meridian’s senior ace Derek Campfield, leadoff batter Sam Schoenberg took the very first pitch of the game to deep center field for a stand-up double. That hit set the tone for the team the rest of the day. There were ups and there were downs, but by the end, the team played solid ball and, coupled with a little timely luck, put in two stellar performances.

Vashon threw Jeremy Pilgrim-Stoppel in game one. He put in another solid outing, cementing his position as the team’s workhorse on the mound. He pitched all seven innings, giving up five hits with seven strikeouts and seven walks. Meridian scored two runs in the first inning off three defensive errors by the Pirates. The Pirates, down 2-0 in the third, brought their first run in when Simon Perrin scored on a passed ball. The Trojans answered back in the bottom half of the third, tacking on one more run, bringing the score to 3-1, where it sat until the top of the sixth inning.

The Pirates were hanging on in survival mode until the momentum began to shift in the bottom of the fifth inning with an unassisted double play by Clyde Pruett, who snagged a mid-shin line drive and beat the runner back to second base. As the drizzle increased, the Pirates had one on and two outs when, with one swing of the bat, Chester Pruett tied the game when he parked one over the left field fence, plating his brother and himself. New life was breathed into the team who promptly shut down the Trojans in the bottom of the sixth and went back to work in the top of the seventh.

With two on and two out, Clyde Pruett whacked a blip of a hit that died on the wet infield grass. He beat out a throw to first by the Meridian shortstop who threw it just low enough to skip under the first baseman’s glove allowing Schoenberg and Dulfer to score the go ahead runs. With Meridian in shock, the Pirates promptly shut them down in the bottom of the seventh allowing only five to come to the plate.

With game one under their belts, the team had to wait for the game between Tenino and Nooksack Valley to see who their opponent would be for the championship. That game was a complete pitchers’ duel as Nooksack won 1-0 on a late game wild throw.

Under normal circumstances, game two would have been called for foul weather. But this was the regional championship game and much like the postal service, neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night would postpone this game. The rain was literally coming straight down from first pitch until there was a slight let up in the sixth inning. Tongue depressors were in full use cleaning mud from cleats and at least 400 pounds of Diamond Dry was used to keep the field in somewhat playable condition. Once white pants were a thing of the past as all uniforms took on a nice rusty red hue.

Nooksack was clearly worn out from their first game, the weather, and not having much rest between games. The Pirates spirits were not dampened by the literal downpour and they took control of the game from the outset working the Nooksack pitchers with a combination of good hitting and taking full advantage of 14 total walks.

The Pirates spread out their offense scoring one run in the first, 2 in the second, 4 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth and 2 more in the seventh. Logan Hawkins had the start and was impressive in four and two-thirds innings giving up only 4 hits, striking out 6 and walking 4. Hawkins also had a hot bat with two hits and 4 rbis. Ashton Dulfer came on in relief and was strong in his 2 innings with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks. He was a dominant base runner getting on with three walks and scoring 2 runs. Sophomore Levi Myer had two base hits and an rbi. Schoenberg continued his hot hitting and had two hits and scored 2 runs.

The Pioneers made it interesting mid-game when they scored two runs in the fourth and then 3 more in the fifth. But, every time they mounted a charge the Pirates were able to compose themselves and answer right back.

Head Coach Steve Hall has never had a team make it to the final four and was effusive in his praise for this year’s team. “We did a great job of staying strong and living by our motto of one inning at a time, fighting for each other for seven innings. Things looked a little bleak against Meridian’s ace when Chet unleashed the two-run shot to tie it up with Clyde on base. I will never forget the smiles of those two rounding the bases. That was really special.”

“You could feel from the start as Sam (Schoenberg) started the game against against Nooksack with a long double on the first pitch just as he had done against Meridian that we weren’t going to be denied our trip to Yakima.” He was pleased with his pitchers noting that “Jeremy and Logan gave their normal warrior performances for us as they’ve done all year, with Ashton nailing down the win in relief, and there’s not a better catcher in the state for my money than Chet behind the plate. I’m just so proud of them all!”

The team travels to Yakima on Friday, May 27 and will face Overlake School at 7 p.m. in County Stadium. Play on Saturday will be determined by the outcome of that game. If they lose, they will play for third place at 1 p.m. The state championship final will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 28.