SHORELINE — Even though the Lake Stevens baseball team finished in fifth place in Wesco 4A, the Vikings didn’t really consider themselves an underdog heading into the 4A District 1 tournament.
Lake Stevens knew it was a good team, better than its 7-7 conference record indicated. It knew it was capable of winning the tournament.
It’s now apparent that the Vikings’ faith in themselves was justified. The tournament’s No. 5 seed is its champion.
“We knew we were better than we had played during (the regular season),” Lake Stevens coach Josh White said Thursday after his team beat Glacier Peak 7-3 in the 4A District 1 tournament championship game at Meridian Park to clinch a berth to the 4A state tournament. “Our philosophy coming into this tournament was that it’s a new season and everybody’s 0-0.”
The Vikings (14-9) finished their regular season schedule by playing eight games against the top four teams in the conference, winning three of those contests. That stretch of games prepared them for the postseason.
“Our message to the team was to not do too much (in the district tournament),” White said. “If you feel like you have to step up, things probably won’t work out. We just wanted to stay the course and have faith in each other.”
The Grizzlies (14-7), the tournament’s No. 2 seed, will play Jackson on Saturday, with the winner of that game earning a berth to the 4A state tournament.
“We would’ve liked to have won the district championship, but our goal coming into this was to get to Safeco Field and play for a state title, and we’re still alive for that,” Glacier Peak coach Bob Blair said. “We’ll be ready to go (Saturday). We’ve got a veteran group, all seniors.”
Lake Stevens scored four runs in the second inning Thursday to take a 5-0 lead, a rally keyed by a Conor Bardue two-run double.
Vikings pitcher Connor Olmstead allowed nine hits and walked four in six innings, but constantly got out of jams to keep Glacier Peak off the scoreboard, with help from his defense.
“We outhit them (13-7). We just couldn’t get a hit at the right time,” Blair said. “(Defensively), we gave them some extra chances. If we had played solid ball from the get-go, they probably wouldn’t have got what they got. But give Lake Stevens credit — they’re a well-coached team and took advantage of their opportunities.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
