NAPAVINE — For the second year in a row, the Adna Pirates will be playing for a district title.
Adna started slow against Toledo in a semifinal on Tuesday, but the Pirates settled in and pulled away for a dominant 8-1 victory, returning not just to the district title game, but also to the state tournament.
“I’m super excited,” Adna coach Jake Overbay said. “We’re trying to get just as far, if not further than last year.”
Toledo jumped in front first on an RBI single from Nico Acosta in the first, and it looked like the Riverhawks were about to get out of a jam in the second with the lead.
“At the beginning of the game, I was a little nervous,” Overbay said. “They put the pressure on us right out of the gate and didn’t let up. Fortunately, we had a little bit of a momentum shift.”
A ground ball to short should have ended the inning, but instead, the throw sailed into the outfield. Owen Fagernes had started the play on second, and he trotted home, and Mat Roundtree sprinted towards third after starting the play at first.
He didn’t stop there, as Overbay waved him in to give the Pirates the lead.
“I knew pushing Roundtree around the bases was our best shot of just creating our own momentum and getting the tides to turn,” Overbay said. “That’s what we needed the most.”
Aiden Percival drove in a third run on the next at-bat, and the Pirates added on over the next two innings.
Cash Smith smashed an RBI triple to deep center field, and Ty Bodenhamer brought him home with an RBI single. Talan Guerrero and Beau Miller also added on with RBI singles, and Owen Fagernes hit a sacrifice fly.
“When they get the bats rolling, they’re pretty impressive to watch,” Overbay said. “One through nine, you can count on almost any guy to barrel a baseball when they’re feeling it.”
Toledo’s Ryker Sorensen threw the first three innings, and though he ended up being charged with six runs, only three of them were earned.
“I thought he threw well,” Toledo coach Mack Gaul said. “And I told him he threw well despite what the score showed.”
The Riverhawks were almost able to break the game open before Adna found its groove offensively.
After scoring the opening run of the game, they stranded two runners on base, and Joquian Acosta was also left stranded after leading off the second with a single and advancing to second after a sacrifice fly.
Over the final five innings, the Riverhawks tallied just three more hits.
“Our approaches looked a lot different after that first and second inning,” Gaul said. “We weren’t fighting with two strikes. To keep this thing going, we gotta have better at-bats.”
Gaul also acknowledged that Adna’s starter, Cameron Nakano, settled in. Nakano ended up pitching four innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while walking two and striking out five.
Overbay said that before the game, he talked about grinding through a ball game on the mound.
“He did exactly that,” Overbay said. “And that’s all you can ask.”
Brody Richards was lights out in relief, allowing just two hits while striking out six.
Smith finished with two extra-base hits and an RBI, and Owen Fagernes and Danner Hoinowski both also added a pair of hits. Toledo’s Nico Acosta and Rohan Feigenbaum also had two hits apiece.
The Riverhawks (15-8) still have two more chances at punching their ticket to state. They’ll face Toutle Lake on Friday, and the winner of that will move on to state and the district tournament third-place game.
The loser will play the loser of Napavine and Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in the fifth-place game, where the winner will clinch the district’s last state tournament spot.
“We’ve bounced back all season long from losses,” Gaul said. “We’re going to have to if we want to get this thing going … It’s win and in. It didn’t happen today, but we’ll go for it again.”
Adna (21-1) will look to avenge its loss in last season’s title game against Ilwaco, who defeated Napavine in extra innings in the other semifinal.
The Pirates defeated the Fisherman 11-5 in their only meeting of the regular season on April 21.
“That’s another really good competitive team,” Overbay said. “I’m sure it’ll be a dogfight on Saturday.”
