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NAPAVINE — At one point, Cal Bullock was a three-sport staple. He was a contributor for football, a key cog in basketball and one of the top players on the diamond.
Injuries kept him away from putting on the pads his last two years at Napavine High School. He’s been through nagging ailments as a basketball player, recently dealing with an injury this winter.
And then there’s baseball, the sport Bullock will continue to play collegiately at Centralia College, where injuries – primarily pitchers – are occurring routinely.
“I’m really grateful and you start to realize it after you’re hurt in other sports,” Bullock said. “Hopefully I can (stay) healthy.”
The Baseball Gods have kept the Tigers ace healthy. Now, can they shine a Final Four appearance from up above?
Back-to-back eliminations in the Class 2B state tournament have dampened Napavine’s quest for a berth in the state semifinals, a feat that hasn’t been reached in nine years, but head coach Brian Demarest feels as good about the 2026 roster as any previous group.
Bullock’s final prep campaign is a big reason why.
“You’d like to say yes; that is our goal,” Demarest said. “He got to a point where he wanted to be the guy. When we had a big game, he wanted to throw and when I didn’t throw him, he was pissed off. Cal is a valuable kid. He just has it in him.
“And that’s what you like to see.”
The right-hander was the No. 2 his first two years in the program behind Ashton Demarest. Still, teammates and coaches knew when it was time for him to take over, he was more than ready. He proved it last spring.
A 2.15 earned run average and 98 strikeouts over 55 innings pushed him to be a first team all-C2BL honoree. His routine for staying healthy involves J-band stretches for shoulders, weighted balls and plenty of recovery.
“I’m in charge of it and I make sure everybody is doing it too,” Bullock said.
Classmate Beckett Landram, also a returning first team all-leaguer, has seen what Bullock does to keep himself in pristine shape to put up zeroes on the scoreboard.
“Hardest pitcher I caught in bullpens,” Landram said. “His development from his freshman year to now is unbelievable. It is pretty remarkable. Some people, when they get good, they lay off and not practice. He still gets better everyday.”
Like Ashton Demarest and Bullock were in 2023-24, Napavine has version No. 2 of a senior-sophomore duo entering this spring. Layton Griffith kept the Tigers in games by going five innings nightly and a couple complete games to boot as a freshman.
He experienced a breakout season in basketball and Demarest senses another step of improvement is upon the 6-foot-1 pitcher.
“He proved last year he is gonna be a guy,” he said of Griffith. “I think he is gonna make a big step.”
Bullock and Landram were at the top of the lineup, but the offense struggled against top pitching. In losses to Kittias, Asotin plus one Toledo game and one Adna game, the Tigers scored a combined four runs.
In the district tournament versus Ilwaco and the Round of 16 against Liberty Bell, they totaled eight runs in the two setbacks.
“We haven;t talked about the game itself, but we’ve talked about wanting to see Liberty Bell again,” Landram said. “We’ve talked about preparing for those types of teams. It is a good experience to go through what happened.
“Especially when we play good teams, we’re gonna get in tough situations and we got to know what to do.”
Pitching has been the calling card for the last four Napavine teams and Bullock’s been at center stage for all of it. He stated he’s excited to play at CC, but his final dance in the black and orange is one he aims to be lengthy.
With a stop in Yakima for the Final Four.
“That is everyone’s goal,” Bullock said. “Our goal is to place.”
