7:04 PM: That’s how West Seattle High School‘s baseball team celebrated the win this evening that is sending them back to the state semifinals – third year in a row! We’ve been up at Edmonds-Woodway HS for the past six hours covering WSHS’s first two state tournament games – both one-run victories, 2-1 over Peninsula and 10-9 over Mountlake Terrace. Next they’ll head to Pasco, where the state 3A semifinal and final games will be played this year. We’ll add more about today’s games here later!

9:58 PM: Here are our highlights of the two games the Wildcats played today – both “loser out” games, so the stakes were high – starting with the game against Peninsula:

WSHS starter #12, senior Miles Chandler, had some control problems right out of the gate. He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning but gave up a run in the second. He was pulled in the fourth inning, and #6, senior John Langen, took over mound duties. Later that inning, WSHS got on the board after #2, senior Bobby Trigg, got a leadoff double and was brought in by #24. junior Lukas Cheha.

The Wildcats’ other run was in the 6th, when #11, senior TJ Buehring, got on base, made it to third after a double by #7, senior Caden Fahy, and then scored.

Time ran out for Peninsula, which didn’t manage to muster a late comeback.

That win sent head coach Dylan Mclauchlin and his team up against Mountlake Terrace, also a “loser out” game. This one had plenty of drama, as well as weather challenges (rain, mostly light). A dedicated crowd braved it all.

This time the Wildcats scored right off the top – Buehring drew a walk, Fahy hit another double, Cheha hit a sacrifice fly for an RBI, and WSHS had an early 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher #17, senior Matthew Henning, struck out two of the first three Terrace batters. In the second, he had two outs on two pitches. Things looked good … until the bottom of the third, when Terrace loaded the bases and turned that into two runs, followed by two more before the inning ended. West Seattle got one back shortly thereafter. It was three up, three down, for Henning in the bottom of the fourth, still 4-2 MLT. The Wildcats added another run in the 5th. So did the Hawks.

Then came the dramatic two-out comeback in the top of the 6th. Buehring and Fahy both got hits after two previous batters notched outs. Henning walked. Cheha got an RBI single.

#42, senior Sabin Tomlinson, came up to bat:

With that, WSHS took the lead, 6-5.

And the rally was’t over – one more run followed. Then in the bottom of the 6th, pitcher #9 Sam Waskowitz made 1-2-3 work of the Mountlake Terrace batters, and it was on to the 7th. The Wildcats added three insurance runs, with hits including yet another Fahy double. By inning’s end, they were ahead 10-5.

But as the saying goes, “it’s not over till it’s over.” Mountlake Terrace loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th and cleared them with a grand slam, That five-run lead was down to one. Fahy concluded his heroics for the day by moving onto the mound and saving the victory.

So, for the third year in a row, the Wildcats have made it into the state tournament semifinals (see the full bracket here). Their next game is in Pasco, vs. Eastside Catholic (20-7), 7:15 pm Friday (May 24). The two teams met on April 3; the Wildcats (20-5) won, 5-4.