Napavine tops Tri-Cities Prep to win first baseball state title in school history

SELAH — In the moments following the game’s final out, the celebration, and the initial postgame team photos, Napavine’s Chase Reyna shared hugs with his family with tears swelling in his eyes.

“This is surreal, man,” Reyna said while his voice began to break. “It’s the most special thing I’ve ever seen.”

The hugs and tears among the Reyna family were only a few of many outside the Napavine dugout on Saturday, when the Tigers defeated No. 1 Tri-Cities Prep 10-5 in the 2B State Championship Game at Carlon Park in Selah to claim their first baseball state title in school history.

“You can’t even explain it,” Napavine coach Brian Demarest said with a smile. “These kids have worked so dang hard. We talked about the fact that there’s some teams out there that have won state titles, and they win because they have massive amounts of talent. We won because we have a lot of freaking character and a lot of grit. Our kids showed it yesterday (against Toutle Lake). We’ve shown it at different times throughout the year, and we showed it again today.”

Napavine (25-2) didn’t need a seventh-inning comeback against TCP like it did in the semifinal victory over Toutle Lake, but the Tigers did have to reset after a rocky first inning. 

They scored twice in the top of the first, giving Layton Griffith an early cushion, but Griffith ran into some early trouble after the first five Jaguars to come to the plate reached base. Three came around to score, giving TCP the early advantage.

The righty was trying to battle through some shoulder pain that surfaced earlier in the week by dropping his arm slot, but he struggled to maintain his command.

As a result, Demarest made an early switch to Tommy Deebach, who was told during warmups that he would be the second pitcher. Deebach walked in a run to open his outing, but was lights out from there on out. He pitched the final six and a third, allowing just four hits and an unearned run while striking out five.

“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Demarest said. “He went up there, and he did Tommy things. He’s a character, and it showed. He battled, he battled, and he battled, and he got us there.”

The Napavine offense didn’t take long to help him out. Hudson Chambers hit a two-run single to tie the game in the second, and Layton Griffith scored on a TCP error in the third to give Napavine a 5-4 lead.

A Napavine error allowed TCP to tie the game in the fourth, but Beckett Landram came through with the biggest at-bat of the season just a half-inning later. The junior lefty smoked a triple over the center fielder’s head, clearing the bases with a three-run triple that put Napavine up 8-5.

“You just trust in your abilities and don’t try to do too much,” Landram said. “All the work you put in, you just trust your hands, trust your ability, and drive your doubts away.”

Landram scored on a Cal Bullock infield single moments later, and Bullock eventually sprinted home after Grady Wilson got into a pickle between first and second later in the inning to give Napavine a five-run advantage heading into the bottom of the fifth.

It’s the first time that Tri-Cities Prep has allowed more than five runs in a game this season, and it’s the first time since 2022 that a team other than TCP has won the 2B title.

“The insurance really helped,” Deebach said. “That was the goal. Come out, get some insurance, throw strikes, and make them hit the ball where we are.”

Deebach allowed just three TCP batters to reach base in the final three innings, and he threw a 1-2-3 seventh to slam the door. The closest that the Jaguars got to a rally was in the sixth, when they had two runners on with just one out, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the inning and the potential threat.

The final out, a pop out to Carter Edmonds in right field, ignited Napavine’s celebration in between the pitcher’s mound and first base.

“We’ve been together our whole lives,” Landram said. “We’ve been falling short a lot, and it just feels good to finally succeed and do what we wanted the past couple years. It’s kind of hard to put into words of how excited we are and happy. It’s a great feeling.”

Moments after the initial celebration, a second ignited as the Tigers’ received the state championship trophy. Similar to a Stanley Cup celebration, each player got their moment with the trophy, including Napavine’s four seniors: Reyna, Bullock, Chambers, and Grady Wilson.

All four of those seniors have been playing for the Tigers since their eighth-grade year in 2022, and all four had been to state three times prior to this spring. Prior to this year’s run, they had never advanced beyond the state quarterfinals.

“Five years in the making,” Reyna said. “All of us have been playing together forever. It’s amazing to see us come together and do something amazing … It’s the best feeling in the world. I wouldn’t trade anything like this for the world. It’s a family, it really is. I would do anything for every one of the kids on this team.”

Landram finished with two hits, including his three-run triple, and he scored three times. Chambers drove in a pair and collected two hits, Griffith added two hits and an RBI, and Bullock chipped in a hit and an RBI of his own.

Wilson and Reyna both added two hits, Eric Bullock added a hit and scored twice, and Deebach drove in a run to help himself.

“I love this group of guys,” Deebach said. “One of the best teams I’ve played for in my life. A super great crew, and I’m really excited that we won this game.”

“The bleach boys strike again,” the junior added with a laugh, referring to the fact that each player on the Tigers bleached their hair prior to the postseason.

As his players celebrated with the trophy, Demarest watched from afar, smiling before denying the chance to hoist the trophy himself.

“That’s theirs,” Demarest said. “This is for them. I’m just happy for them.”