Fighting its way all the way from the loser-out first round of the district tournament as the Central 2B’s No. 6 seed, the Napavine baseball team has completed back-to-back-to-back upsets, culminating in a 17-4 demolition of 2B Pacific champ Forks Tuesday at Lower Columbia Community College.
The Tigers also usurped Pacific No. 3 Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Saturday, and upset C2B No. 2 Kalama later that day, but a win over the Spartans locks them into the district championship game for the first time since 2015.
“Our kids played their tails off,” Tigers coach Brian Demarest said. “Our pitchers did a nice job of throwing strikes and our defense was great behind them. We put a lot of pressure on them from the beginning. Very proud of this group of kids.”
Napavine jumped on Forks from the gate, putting 12 runs on the board in the first two innings. Ashton Demarest went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI, and Austin Chapman also went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and a game-high four RBIs.
On the mound, Conner Holmes and Scott Burdick got the job done, combining to allow just six hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts against a talented lineup.
The win means the Tigers will take on either Toledo or Toutle Lake in the district championship on Saturday, tentatively scheduled to be played W.F. West High School. The last time Napavine made a district title appearance, they lost to PWV, 8-7, in the 2015 season.