Lynden baseball is headed back to the 2A state championship for the first time since 2012 following a five-inning, 11-0 win over top-seeded Selah in the semifinals Friday night at Joe Martin Stadium.
Lynden will now play No. 2 Tumwater (22-4), the defending 2A state champions, in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 27, at Joe Martin Stadium.
The No. 5-seeded Lions (21-6) got a complete game gem from junior pitcher Lane Simonsen, who finished the game with six hits allowed, seven strikeouts and no walks in the shutout victory.
“[Simonsen] was dialed in today,” Lynden coach Cory White said. “It’s just one of those things, I’m glad he’s wearing our uniform. He’d be a tough kid to face because he is such a competitor … this is something he’s been wanting for a long time.”
Simonsen held Selah (23-2) to just three hits through the first four innings and stranded three runners on the game’s final out. Selah averaged 8.2 runs scored per game coming into the contest.
“I just trusted our defense and I trusted our catcher,” Simonsen said. “I just threw strikes and knew whatever happened, happened. Luckily, they swung and missed on a couple, and we made our plays.”
Conversely, the Vikings’ pair of pitchers walked eight Lions batters and surrendered 10 hits to a Lynden offense that scored just five total runs in its first two games of the tournament. Three of the Lions’ 11 runs Friday were walked in.
Lynden senior outfielder Lane Heeringa led the team at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Senior pitcher/designated hitter Kaedan Hermanutz went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored.
“We’re not a great hitting team,” Lynden coach Cory White said. “We feel confident in our pitching and our defense, and we still work on that, but we invested some more time on hitting and doing things a little differently.”
As good as Lynden’s offense was, the defense had to hold. Simonsen, senior catcher Kobe Baar and all the Lions fielders ensured that by committing just one error.
White said this game was an example of his team being mentally sound and embracing the parts of practice they have been emphasizing in recent weeks.
“Those little things were shown tonight by the players, and they were jacked up about it,” White said. “That’s so rewarding when kids see the result of hard work and situational things we were doing.”
Lynden unloaded four quick runs in the first inning, loading the bases before the fifth batter in the order could step up to the plate. A quiet second inning gave way to another four-run inning by the Lions in the third, highlighted by a double down the third-base line by senior outfielder Campbell Nolte.
The Lions led 8-0 before Selah knew what hit it. Selah retired senior pitcher Carter Seely after 3.1 innings, relieving him with sophomore Rowdy Mullins, but Lynden kept its foot on the gas pedal.
Selah went three up, three down in the second and third innings, and Lynden added another pair of runs in the top of the fourth and one in the top of the fifth.
The Vikings had their best offensive inning in the bottom of the fifth, connecting on three hits, but Simonsen and Lynden’s outfield didn’t allow any to get home.
Now, the Lions will face defending state champion Tumwater.
“They play the game very passionately,” White said of Tumwater. “We’re just going to have to try to keep that momentum at bay.”
Selah will face No. 3 W.F. West in the third/fourth-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 27, at Joe Martin Stadium.
