2A Baseball: Guerrero No-Hits West Valley in Third-Place Game

YAKIMA — Tyson Guerrero may have had a bad taste in his mouth.

His Bearcats were coming off a semifinal loss to Ellensburg on Friday morning, and Guerrero’s last appearance on the mound — in the regional finals — was a win, but far from his best outing.

The W.F. West senior, though, saved the best performance of his prep career for last.

Guerrero was nearly flawless through five innings as the Bearcats hammered West Valley (Spokane), 12-0, here Saturday in the third-place game of the State 2A Baseball Tournament.

“I was feeling it today,” he said. “The heat was really nice. I think the heat really helped a lot, and I was just ready to throw.”

The Washington State University-bound lefthander also knew he wasn’t about to end his exceptional prep career with a loss.

“I was really aware,” he said. “It’s kind of sad, a little bit, but (I’m) ending off on a win and good pitching.”

Good was an understatement. Guerrero allowed just one baserunner — on a one-out, third-inning walk — and struck out 12 for a no-hitter. West Valley’s Hunter Tiffany flew out to left field on the first at-bat of the game, and the only other balls put in play were a chopper and a bunt attempt, both of which Guerrero cleanly fielded for outs.

“He had his breaking pitch just on point today,” Bearcat coach Bryan Bullock said. “He was throwing that thing first-pitch, throwing it in the dirt when we wanted it in the dirt — he was locating it, and when he can do that, his fastball becomes untouchable.”

At the plate, meanwhile, the Bearcats had little trouble with Eagle starter Jaxson Imada, knocking seven hits before Imada was removed in the second inning and leading 6-0 after two — despite leaving the bases loaded in the first inning.

Brock Jones hit a two-run single in the third inning that put W.F. West up 9-0, and Camden Bull hit a hard ground ball that was misplayed by the West Valley shortstop for a run-scoring error in the fourth inning to put the 10-run rule in play.

Designated hitter Lane Douglass went 4 for 4 with two RBIs to lead the offense, which tallied 13 hits. Dakota Hawkins was 3 for 4 and drove in three runs, with a two-run double in the fourth, and Jones went 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

Guerrero was 2 for 4 with a double, Nole Wollan went 1 for 3 with a single, and freshman Drew Reynolds doubled to lead off the fourth.

The Bearcats finished the season with a 23-3 record, after losing both ends of a doubleheader to open the season on March 10 and winning 22 games in a row heading into the state’s final four in Yakima. That streak included an undefeated Evergreen 2A Conference run and a District 4 championship, the Bearcats’ third in a row.

Still, the 4-0 semifinal loss to Ellensburg on Friday morning — in a rematch of the 2017 state championship game — was a letdown.

“Yesterday was pretty tough for us seniors, and I guess for everyone else, too,” Guerrero said. “We all wanted to get that one and get to the state championship, and we lost, and then we realized we’ve got to end off on a win.

“And today was the day to end off on a win.”

It was the last prep game for Guerrero and classmates Hawkins, Wollan, Max Miller, Brandon White, Gabe O’Neil, Christian Dunivin and Bull.

Bull, who started as a junior but missed the bulk of his senior season recovering from an injury suffered during football season, got his only at-bat of the year on Saturday.

“He’s put in a ton of work to get healthy and get back,” Bullock said, “and it was a great opportunity to get him an at-bat to end his career.”

The seniors, the coach added, will be missed.

“They’ve obviously made our program very successful, but off the field, as well,” Bullock said. “This is a group that leads by example, and anything that needs to get done, they’re going to get done.”