Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
For the fifth time in nine years, Pat Doumit will give his baseball team a directive at a hotel in late May.
“The activity is, be responsible around the hotel,” the Colton coach said of the ritual of waiting for a 4 p.m. first pitch in the 1B state championship game.
It’s a day that also consists of lunch and watching part of the 2B championship before the Wildcats’ pre-game routine begins.
At Wheeler Field in Centralia, Colton will face Evergreen Lutheran for the title, two years after winning it with four starters who will take the field for another state final: Carter Dahmen, Brady Chadwick, Grant Kinzer and Peter Schultheis.
“Now they’re the old guys,” said Doumit.
Overall, it’s one of the youngest Colton teams to advance to the championship; starting one senior (Dahmen), four juniors, three freshmen and two sophomores.
Evergreen Lutheran will be somewhat of a mystery.
“It’s been a little bit of an information dig to find out anything about them,” Doumit said. “They’ve obviously got to be pretty decent to get to the last game.”
Colton got there with back-to-back quarterfinal and semifinal wins at Walla Walla Saturday, May 21.
Playing Liberty Christian first, the Wildcats won 6-0.
An RBI-single from Reece Chadwick made it 3-0 Colton in the second inning before Chadwick delivered another RBI-single for 4-0 in the third. In the sixth, Kinzer hit a two-out triple off the wall and scored on an overthrow at third.
On the mound was Brady Chadwick.
“Brady was just in complete control,” Doumit said.
The junior went seven innings to allow four hits, with five strikeouts and one walk.
Reece Chadwick led Colton at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Kinzer went 2-for-3 as well with an RBI, a double and a triple.
Colton advanced to the state semifinal in the afternoon to beat Riverside Christian 11-5.
Peter Schultheis led at the plate, going 3-for-3 with six RBIs and a double. Carter Dahmen went 2-for-5 with an RBI as well.
Schultheis got the Wildcats started with a bases-loaded double in the first inning, followed by a two-RBI single in the second. In the fourth, another RBI-single from Schultheis put Colton up 9-0.
Riverside Christian cut the score to 10-5 in the sixth but couldn’t get closer.
Dahmen pitched in the game, going five and two-thirds innings to allow five runs with five hits, five strikeouts and six walks. Cameron Bean followed in relief, throwing one and one-third innings, posting one hit, two strikeouts and no walks.
Now advancing to the state final, Doumit said he and his team will be ready.
“You always get excited,” he said. “If you ever stop getting excited, you should stop doing it because it doesn’t mean enough to you.”
The team will ride over on the bus Friday and work out at Tumwater High School.
The next morning the wait begins for gametime.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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