Columbia River beats Tumwater to win 2A District 4 baseball championship behind sixth inning burst

Both state contenders advance to the regional round, but the Rapids left thinking about more than their sixth inning rally. After all, there's more ping-pong to play.

RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — Throughout Columbia River baseball charmed season, there has been one consistent throughline strengthening the team's already-tight bond. 

Table tennis.

Rapids players show up early to practice to play one another on the ping-pong table in the team’s dugout.

That was on senior Sam Boyle’s mind after the thrilling 5-2 2A District 4 championship win over Tumwater on Friday night on the rain-soaked turf at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.

“If we keep on winning, we get to keep on playing ping-pong,” Boyle, a University of Washington signee, said.

Columbia River (18-4) hoisted the district title trophy, a year after losing to in the district semis W.F West, which went on to beat Tumwater in the district title.

While Boyle's comment was made in jest, it demonstrates just how well the 2A Greater St. Helens League champion Rapids have gelled on and off the diamond this spring.

Both teams have qualified for next week’s WIAA 2A regional round and enter as legitimate contenders because of their strength on the mound. Tumwater is No. 1 and River is No. 3 in SBLive’s state power rankings. Where they play next will be determined by a state seeding committee on Sunday morning.

(SBLive's Washington high school baseball power rankings, May 10)

Tumwater (17-6) boasts three Division I-bound pitchers, headlined by Washington State-bound right-hander Ryan Orr. Orr had 17 strikeouts in Tuesday’s win over Hockinson, tying a school record set by his own teammate, UNLV-bound Jordan Hansen, in the T-Birds’ home opener on March 22.

Its third standout, Blake Smith, a Seattle U signee, suffered a yet-to-be-determined posterior cruciate ligament injury sliding into a base on Tuesday and was a vocal supporter in the dugout on crutches.

He played first base on Friday, but Boyle, a lefty whose fastball touches the high-80s, is piecing together one of the state’s best seasons on the mound. He’s 8-0 with 99 strikeouts opposite 17 hits, four earned runs (0.58 ERA) and five walks. And senior righty Casey Struckmeier had 10 strikeouts in a dramatic comeback win over W.F. West in the district semifinals Wednesday.

Friday’s matchup stood out, only because both teams started their No. 3 and 4 arms.

The Rapids got five strong innings from sophomore Noah Larson, who struck out five and only allowed two hits and an earned run.

Thunderbirds junior Alex Overbay, who made relief appearances on Tuesday and Wednesday, tossed seven strikeouts and allowed three hits and three walks in five innings, his longest start of the season.

Overbay zipped up the fifth inning on a full-count strikeout with runners on first and second.

“We haven’t pushed him out that far,” Tumwater coach Lyle Overbay said. “The last inning he struggled through it and got through it.”

Tumwater took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to center field, which scored Brayden Oram, who had hit a double and stolen third to set up the go-ahead run.

Trouble came quickly once the T-Birds swapped pitchers. The Rapids quickly loaded the bases and tallied four runs — the first on a walk and the next three from wild pitches.

“It was really our energy that kept us around,” Boyle said,” and we’ve found that these past few games.”

It only took sophomore relief pitcher Zach Zeibell four batters to close the game out in the top of the sixth.

“As soon as we took the lead, I knew I could shut them down, hold them to zero runs with a three-run lead,” Zeibell said. "I was pretty confident about that.”

Lyle Overbay, a Centralia native who had a 14-year MLB career as a first baseman, said Friday showed the team all it has to work on ahead of the next round.

“If we can learn from it, we’ll be a better team,” he said. “If not, we’ll be headed home soon.”

---Andy Buhler; @AndyBuhler.