SELAH – The Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors earned third in the 1B state tournament Saturday afternoon. The team entered the tournament as the number three seed. 

“We’ve played a lot of baseball together and we’re kind of senior heavy, so we knew it was coming to an end and there were feelings throughout the weekend,” said Warriors’ senior Carter Pitts. 

Following their 7-3 victory last weekend against Wahkiakum, the Warriors faced DeSales in the semifinals of the tournament Friday. DeSales came up early in the first inning with three runs and put up another run in the fifth inning, while the Warriors had only been able to put out one run in the final inning to end the game 1-4 in favor of the Irish. 

Warriors head coach Hunter Lee said there were a few key errors the team made in the first inning of the game that contributed to their rough start. Starting pitcher, Caden Correia for the Warriors, held the opponent for the remainder of the game, but they were never able to get back into the game. 

“Just kind of got in a hole early,” said Lee.  

The Warriors' next opponent was Naselle following their loss in the semifinals Friday afternoon. Lee said the team was all in to win the third-place spot in the tournament the next day and pulled together a 3-1 victory in that game. 

“Trying to end the year with a win,” said Lee. “Only two teams get to do that; the team that holds the state championship trophy and then the third-place trophy.” 

The game for third took place Saturday morning, with the Warriors' game plan to leave nothing to chance and put in everything they had. In a reversal of the Friday morning game, the Warriors came out early with three runs in the first inning. 

Lee said that once again, the team’s pitching played a huge factor in their success throughout the game as sophomore Max Grindy, senior Jameson Conley, and Pitts each took to the mound against Naselle. The pitchers and defense held their opponent to only one run throughout the entirety of the game to win 3-1, earning the team third in the 1B state tourney. 

“A lot of us seniors were talking, and we were like, ‘we’ve got one more game and we’re not going to go out bummed that we got out of the championship,” said Conley. “We thought it would feel much better ending on a win, and that’s what we did.” 

Conley said the overall team mindset as they entered the tournament this year was to be more focused and strive to do better than before. Sticking to their reps prepared them for the games, but their team bonding is where they have found success. 

“We have all grown up together in a little town, so we’re all best friends. We all love each other,” he said. 

The Warriors will be graduating seven seniors after this season, with Conley, Pitts, Jeremy Pinar, Grayson Beal, Toby Schmauder, William Allsbrook and Kayden Casimir all leaving the team. Despite the significant loss of the senior class, Lee said he's confident ACH will be back in the state tournament next season. 

“We’re definitely losing some guys with our senior class right now that we’re really going to miss, and I’m very thankful for them, but we’ll be back next year,” said the coach. 

Many on the team will be playing summer ball as they end their spring season, including Conley as he waits to join a college baseball team. He said he's currently considering Walla Walla University as a potential college where he will study diesel mechanics. 

Pitts said this last game was very important to win, as this currently is where he plans to end his sports career, as he doesn’t plan to continue at the collegiate level. 

“It was an emotional game for me, but it’s all the motivation to end on a win,” said Pitts. 

He said he hadn’t always grown up being into baseball, but in eighth grade, he was placed on the high school team and ended up falling in love with the game. While he doesn’t plan on playing baseball as he attends WSU, he still has plans to keep the sport part of his life in some way. 

“I’m just very thankful for this opportunity,” said Pitts. I think it’s a great game and it’s a great team. I’m very glad that I got to end it with these guys.” 

Box Scores

Semifinals
DSLS: 3-0-0-0-1-0-0: 4
ACHT: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1: 1 

Finals 
ACHT: 3-0-0-0-0-0-0: 3
NASL: 0-0-0-0-1-0-0: 1 

    Jameson Conley pitching against Naselle in their battle for third in the state. Conley said that the team’s strongest trait is the camaraderie that they’ve built over the years.
  

    Warriors' senior Toby Schmauder making a catch in the midfield for an out in the finals match against Naselle. The team will be graduating seven seniors after this season.
  

    Caden Correia pitching on the mound in the semifinals against DeSales. Correia stood on the mound all seven innings and earned an award for sportsmanship after the game.
  

    Seen making a run for first base in the Warriors’ game against Naselle, Carter Pitts also played in the outfield where he made multiple crucial defensive stops. Pitts said this was a very emotional game for the seniors on the team and they used their emotions to fuel their motivation for victory.
  

    Harvest Parrish standing up to bat for the warriors in the semifinals against DeSales. Parrish will be one of the returning players for the team next season where he will be a senior.
  

    Warriors’ senior Grayson Beal sprinting for first base in the semifinal round against DeSales. While they struggled in the semifinals, the team was able to rally against Naselle for the third place victory.