Baseball: 2-time defending State Champs Tumwater cap 12-0 league Title, ready for Postseason

4/30/2024

Tumwater 11, Black Hills 4

(Tumwater, WA) The Tumwater T-Birds wrapped up a perfect 12-0 EVCO 2A league record with an 8 run win over their crosstown rival Black Hills. Tumwater is now 16-4 overall and will play North Thurston in a non-league game on Friday before hosting round 1 of the district tournament next Tuesday against the GSHL #4 seed in the opening round of the double elimination tournament.

It wasn’t as easy as the final score appeared to hand the Wolves their final loss of the season. Tumwater was the visitor despite playing on their home field. So in the top of 1 the T-Birds scored twice on errors after lead-off hitter Derek Thompson walked and Eddie Marson singled. Both scored on passed balls or wild pitches. Tumwater had the bases full but Wolves pitcher Parker Termini worked out of the jam down just 2-0.

The Wolves answered with a run in the bottom of the inning when starting Tumwater pitcher Thompson walked the bases full with 2 outs and William Kytta slapped an RBI single. But those all Black Hills could do and also left the bases loaded.

Tumwater added a run in the top of 2 when Peyton Davis led off with a single and scored on a sharply hit double by Marson into right-center field. Marson would have easily had a triple but he stumbled rounding 2nd and hit the deck. Marson tried to scramble to get to the base but was tagged out for the 3rd out and ended the inning but not before Davis scored to make it 3-1.

The bottom of 2 saw Thompson struggle and the Wolves had their best inning of the game. Cole Moss led off with a walk followed by Cooper Parkinson who was hit by a pitch. Truman Wimsett sacrificed both runners over on a slow grounder to 1st base and great hustle by Thompson got there just in time to get the 1st out. Termini then got on safely with a fielder’s choice while courtesy runner Conner Mounts scored. Blake Klinger then singled for an RBI and would work himself around to score on an error and the Wolves led 4-3 after 2 innings.

Tumwater kept chipping away scoring 1 in the 3rd when Jimmy Womach singled and Charlie Crawford doubled for the RBI. In the 4th they added 2 more runs with Nathan Klingelhoffer and Will Bind both scoring on RBI’s from Marson and Womach. The T-birds added 2 more in the 5th led by an RBI single from Thompson and would wrap-up their scoring with 3 in the top of 7. Eddie Winkley singled and scored and they took advantage of several walks and a big error.

Meantime, Derek Thompson, Braeden Konrad and Luke Overbay combined to shut down the Wolves by retiring 16 of the final 17 batters including 13 in a row. The Wolves just couldn’t capture the magic they created in the 2nd inning and finished their year with a 2-10 league mark.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Eddie Marson after going 2-3 with 2 RBI and scoring 2 runs plus several big plays from his shortstop position.

The play of the game went to Black Hills in the 2nd inning when Cooper Parkinson gobbled up a ground tagged 2nd and then turned a double play to 1st baseman Logan Swannack.

To watch the full game replay on the NFHS Network (Subscription required) click this link: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/tumwater-high-school-tumwater-wa/gam2349109d2e

ESN talks with Game MVP Eddie Marson