ADNA — The stakes were simple Friday afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year in Adna, with Central 2B League rivals Adna and Napavine playing in a 2B District 4 consolation semifinal.
Win and move on, or go home.
Behind another dominant outing from junior lefty Tristan Percival, the Pirates got the best of their rivals for the second time this season in a rubber match between the foes, 2-0.
“Win and move on, that’s what it's all about at this point,” Adna coach Thad Nelson said. “What an effort from Tristan Percival, my gosh. In a do-or-die game he stepped up. We got the base hits that we needed, and that’s a really good, solid baseball team we just beat. I tip my hat to them, they’re good.”
Percival mowed down 15 of the 25 batters he faced Friday afternoon, and walked just three batters and allowed two lonely hits. The junior let just three Tigers get in scoring position, and escaped each inning without allowing a run in a shutout performance, pitching all but the final out.
“Early on it was the fastball and he got his breaking ball going later,” Nelson said. “He was around the zone and just did a great job. What more can you say?”
To his credit, Napavine countered with a good performance from its junior hurler as well, with Ashton Demarest allowing just three hits, and striking out five with four walks.
The junior mixed in his change-up to induce lots of flyouts and ground balls that the Napavine defense mostly took care of, save for a few mistakes.
The Pirates scored their first run in the opening inning, with Luke Mohney leading off with a double, and scoring two at-bats later when Percival hit another double.
That would be Demarest’s only earned run of the game, after the Pirates took advantage of a mistake in the Tiger outfield, and Asher Guerrero knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
“He pitched his ass off,” Tigers coach Brian Demarest said. “He probably had his best game of the year on the mound, that’s what you expect out of your leaders. You want guys to step up in big games, I was really proud of him.”
Napavine’s lone hits of the day came from Conner Holmes and Beckett Landram.
The result means the Pirates’ season will continue Saturday in the 2B District 4 third-place game, and with a state bid locked up, while the Tigers’ season is over.
“It’s a big deep breath, for sure,” Nelson said of locking up the regional state bid.
Napavine graduates just one senior with an incredibly young roster in Austin Chapman. Tigers’ coach Brian Demarest said this group wouldn’t have made it this far this season without their senior leader.
“It sucks to see Chapman not get a W here in his last game, but he had a great four years,” Brian Demarest said. “We’re going to miss him. He’s been a leader for us in the dugout for years. He’s such a positive kid. We have a young team and he’s rallied behind them and has done a great job. He’s been a great player since he got here and I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
