EVERETT Two great back-to-back playoff performances from the M-P baseball team secured the Tomahawks a trip to state for the first time since 2005.
In their May 5 opener against Jackson, the boys ripped a series of hits and built a six-run advantage in the first inning, which led them to a 10-0 victory in five innings on the Timberwolves home diamond. Senior pitcher Frankie Nelson threw a one-hitter, no-walk game while senior clean-up batter Riley Gilbertson went 3-for-4 at bat with a double and three RBIs.
I was just looking for a first-pitch fastball, and they gave it to me, Gilbertson said afterward. The senior first baseman kept a third-inning drive alive with his third hit when he outpsyched the Jackson second baseman in a situation where he should have been out. The fielder had the ball as Gilbertson neared second, but the Tomahawk didnt give up.
I knew I was hosed there, so I decided to slide hard and go at him, he added. The ball came loose and the senior was called safe. After coming out on top here, we have some momentum going in (against Snohomish).
Just as the Tomahawks used strong batting throughout the lineup to secure an early lead against Jackson, consistency at bat proved essential to their win a day later against Snohomish.
With a seventh-inning rally that depended on each batter getting his hits, M-P came from behind to defeat Snohomish for the first time in three tries this season, securing Marysville an invite to the state tournament. M-P held its own against Snohomish ace Derek Jones at Everett Memorial Stadium, getting 13 hits in the May 6 win.
We were slugging away against their pitcher and finally we got him in the seventh, said M-P coach Kurt Koshelnik. I think in the end, everyone stepped up. Thats how this team has been.
The entire lineup was essential to M-Ps five-run rally as senior Joe Bray got a hit to start things off, followed by hits from six of the next seven batters.
The win set the Tomahawks against Wesco South champs Mountlake Terrace for seeding at state May 10. With pitching woes, M-P fell 13-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
The loss gave Mountlake Terrace the district championship and a home regional at Everett Memorial Stadium. M-P will travel for its regional to Tacomas Heidelberg Park, where theyll face Olympia at 1 p.m. With a win, theyll play an opponent yet to be determined the same day at 4 p.m.