2B Baseball: Pirates Shock Colfax for First State Baseball Title

The Adna Pirates staked their claim as State 2B baseball champions on Saturday by registering a 4-2 comeback victory over Colfax.

And as en vogue as it is to claim that a team has “shocked the world,” it may be more accurate to say that the Pirates shocked themselves.

“I’m still not even sure what happened it that fifth inning,” said an incredulous Pirate skipper Jon Rooklidge, once it was all said and done.

That befuddling fifth inning that left Rooklidge shaking his head over top of a championship-water-bucket-soaked jersey came straight from the pages of a feel-good Disney story.

Trailing 2-1 heading into the frame, Adna started the inning with a screaming line-out to third base. Undeterred, Spencer Burdick stroked a single and then Marcus Hampton milked a full count walk. With runners at first and second, Isaac Ingle singled on a 1-2 pitch and plated Burdick for the game-tying run.

During the next at-bat both runners advanced on a passed ball before a strikeout seemed to fizzle the Pirates’ momentum.

Tyson Gray would have none of that notion, however, and sent a worm-burning single back up the middle to score Blaine Latimer, who had entered the game as Hampton’s pinch runner.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Wes Wilson, who pitched Adna to a complete game victory, sent a high chopper toward shortstop and beat the throw for an improbable infield single that drove in Adna’s fourth and final run of the contest.

Nolan Balzer drove in Adna’s first run of the game in the fourth inning, scoring Hampton on a fielder’s choice.

On the mound, as Rooklidge put it, “Wes Wilson was the story today.”

Wilson, a sophomore, turned in a gutsy complete-game championship-clinching performance one day after fellow sophomore Burdick pitched the Pirates into the championship.

On the day Wilson fanned 11 batters with the help of his plummeting curveball and shutout the Bulldogs in every inning but the third, when Colfax scored two runs with two outs.

“I think everyone in the world today knew this was a big game except Wes Wilson,” said Rooklidge in his postgame euphoria.

“I knew this was a big game,” Wilson explained, “but I was just trying to stay calm out there.”

Wilson credited his teammates for their steady play and unwavering confidence.

“They just kind of let me go out and do my thing,” he said.

Burdick, the star of Friday’s game versus DeSales, had a better idea of where his teammate’s big-game aptitude was honed.

“Me and Wes, we’ve been playing in big games since we were nine years old,” remembered Burdick. “We’re just a little older now, and a little more composed.”

Midway through the game, though, the game was very much still in doubt.

Holding a two-run lead with their pitcher, Danny Robinson, settling into a groove on the mound, the Bulldogs could undoubtedly sense the savory scent of victory wafting in the afternoon breeze.

Again, Adna would have none of that nonsense.

“We’ve had to face a lot of adversity this year,” noted Rooklidge. “Things didn’t go perfectly for us and I think in a lot of ways that really teaches the kids a lot.”

The Pirates (22-7) finished in a tie for third place in the Central 2B League and finished fourth in the District 4 tournament, coming 90 feet and an out from elimination in one tight game. They beat La Conner and Napavine — a team that held a 3-0 record against Adna at that point — in regionals to reach the final four.

“We never ran the table,” added Rooklidge. “And in the end I think that’s what made the difference.”

After the game Adna faithful mobbed the field and propped Pirate players up in an unending array of championship photo poses with a gracious trophy-toting Dairy Ambassador.

One fan, clutching Wilson tight in a celebratory embrace, observed astutely and loud for all to hear: “You were incredible today!” And better, yet, “You did something your dad never did!”