Bothell stops Edmonds-Woodway in regional final | 4A Baseball

KENT — Brian McAfee just knew one of his Bothell High School baseball buddies would step forward.

Starting pitcher Henry Baillargeon felt the support as well.

So when it mattered most, the Cougars counted on one another and kept the faith.

Senior third baseman Dain Gilbert delivered the game-winning RBI single in the sixth inning as fourth-ranked Bothell rallied to claim a 5-2 victory over 10th-ranked Edmonds-Woodway in Saturday's Class 4A regional final at Kent Memorial Park.

One at-bat before Gilbert's hit, McAfee knotted the score at 2-2 with a double to center field that scored pinch-runner Rex Carlin. Then, McAfee, who won their state opener earlier in the day to hike his record to 9-0, came on for the save, capping Baillargeon's six-hit effort over 6-2/3 innings.

"This group of guys has been doing this since we were 9 and 10 years old, at least," said Baillargeon, a senior left-hander. "There's guys from my T-ball team that are on this team. To be able to have this opportunity with this group of guys is awesome.

"This is a dream come true."

Bothell (21-4) plays Richland in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.

Austin Jones's two-run home run over the right-field wall gave Edmonds-Woodway (17-8) a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Warriors held a 2-1 lead until Bothell's four-run sixth inning outburst.

"The whole team was focused," said McAfee, who was 4 for 5 in the two Saturday games, and went 2 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored against E-W. "We play great as a team together. We try to make a lot of plays in the field and pick each other up. This has been a goal of our since Little League.

"We had tons of faith since we've been playing together forever. We knew if someone screwed up, then someone else would have our back."

The Cougars' Kevin McShane led off the sixth inning with a double. In addition to RBI hits by McAfee and Gilbert in the inning, Bothell got a sacrifice-fly RBI from Ryan Morgan and an RBI single down the left-field line from Mark Woods.

"We're always going to bounce back," McAfee said of the early hole. "We're a tournament team. A lot of us play together in the summer. We're always down in holes and we figure out a way to get back."

With one more win, the Cougars, who last went to state in 2008, can make school history with their best finish at state. Bothell's best finish was fourth in 2007, the same year it vanquished Edmonds-Woodway 16-10 in the state quarterfinals.

Loser out

Edmonds-Woodway 7, Puyallup 6 (8 innings)

The Warriors blew a 5-1 lead, then survived in the extra inning against the Vikings (19-6) by scoring two in the top of the eighth on a pair of bases-loaded walks. Mac McLachlan walked with the bases loaded and one out to score pinch-runner Justin Jolly for a 6-5 lead. One batter later, Tate Budnick walked to score brother Ryan Budnick for a 7-5 lead.

Ryan Budnick went 3 for 4 with a solo home run and a pair of doubles. He drove in three runs and scored three.

Puyallup rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and first baseman James Harris forced the extra frame with a mammoth solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the seventh.

Ryan Budnick earned the save by retiring the final two batters. He struck out Joey Crunkilton looking to end the game.

Bothell 7, Federal Way 1

Bothell's McAfee kept the Eagles (16-7) off balance with a four-hitter. McAfee, who struck out five, also went 2 for 3 with an RBI. He took a shutout into the top of the seventh, but Washington-bound Nick Tanielu broke up his shutout bid with a single before scoring on Brett Evans' sacrifice fly. Leadoff hitter Jon Mercer went 2 for 4 with two runs for the Cougars.