Junior pitcher Jonah Aase’s four-hit, 13-strikeout game held Cedar Park Christian in check after the third inning and Meridian advanced to the 1A state championship game with a 2-1 win on Friday, May 24 at Joe Martin Stadium.
No. 6-seeded Meridian (19-7) is headed to the title game for the first time since 1984, and the Trojans will be seeking their first-ever state championship. Meridian will face the winner of No. 5 Tenino and No. 8 Overlake at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 25.
At the beginning of the season, Trojans head coach Steve Slesk told his team he thought they had what it took to be state champions. They’re now one win away.
“Our focus [has been] not about us getting there. This team, last weekend, it was not about us just getting here, it was about winning two games,” Slesk said. “We’re here to win it and we’re going to give somebody our best shot, for sure.”
The Trojans lost to No. 2 Cedar Park Christian (20-6) in the 1A Bi-District championship, 4-2, on May 11, and the Eagles beat them in last season’s district semifinals leading to Meridian missing the state tournament.
To beat a team in the state semifinals that had halted their success in the past made it even sweeter. Aase also caught the game-sealing flyout in center field.
“They’re not sweeping us. We got this one this time,” Aase thought as he pulled in the last out. “The one that mattered.”
Slesk praised his ace — not only for his efforts on the mound but for his leadership.
“He’s literally like another coach out there,” Slesk said of Aase. “He was a calming influence on the team when he was out there on defense and it’s really helped. He’s a great teammate, too.”
Aase struck out five of the first eight Eagles batters he faced.
Cedar Park Christian began threatening the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Meridian senior center fielder Tyson Timmer committed the Trojans’ first error of the game on a routine flyout — allowing the Eagles to stack runners on first and second.
Two batters later, Eagles senior Adam Haight hit a two-out double to left field and scored senior Evan Graham.
After being held without a hit in the first three innings, Meridian came alive in the top of the fourth when senior Ian Forbes and Aase each put down one-out singles, setting the pair up on the corners.
Senior Silas Berschauer’s RBI double to right field drove in Forbes, tying the game at 1-1.
Timmer was then walked to load the bases before freshman Nate Payne struck out for Meridian. With just two outs, however, a walk of junior Tristan Wang on the Trojans’ next at-bat allowed Aase to stroll in for the go-ahead run.
Aase held Cedar Park Christian scoreless after the third inning. After a 105-pitch game, the left-hander was relieved by Payne in the top of the sixth inning.
“I’ve just got to be able to throw strikes and let my defense play for me because I know they’re always behind me,” Aase added. “I know we’ll put up some runs. It’s just about how we can play as a team, and I know if we do that, we’ll get the win every time.”
Payne pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed two hits — both of which came in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Senior Keller Standish flied out to Aase in deep center field to end the game.
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
