COULEE CITY – The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors concluded their baseball season with a successful record of 19-4 and a third-place finish in the state tournament. Head coach Hunter Lee said his team met their expectations for the season.  

“It was another really good year, and anytime you make it to the final four, is a successful season. Then obviously we came up short with our ultimate goal of winning it all this year, but to win third place and end the year with a win was pretty cool,” Lee said.  

The Warriors won their way into the third seed in the 1B state tournament and received a first-round bye. They would play Wahkiakum in the quarterfinals on May 24 and win 7-3, advancing to the semi-finals. Against Wahkiakum, the Warriors saw strong pitching from Max Grindy, and Carter Pitts led the offensive charge with four stolen bases. They got off to a hot start with four runs in the first inning and added three more throughout the rest of the game.  

In the semi-final game, the Warriors had a chance to avenge their state title loss last year against DeSales on May 30. Heading into that game, Lee said it was a matchup that they had marked on their calendars.  

“We definitely haven't forgotten it. I mean, we would love to try and get it back,” Lee said.  

Last year's game may have been a shutout, but the Warriors managed to make this year's game much closer. DeSales would score three runs in the first inning and would not score another until the fifth. The Warriors were not able to get on the scoreboard until the seventh inning for their only run of the day.  

They would move on to play for the third-place spot against Naselle. The Warriors would open the game with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. From there, the defense did their part to prevent Naselle from making a comeback, only allowing one run in the top of the fifth inning. The Warriors won 3-1 and secured a third-place finish in the state tournament.  

The ultimate outcome may not have been what they wanted, but Lee remained encouraging to his players after wrapping up their season against Naselle.  

“It was really nice to win. I told all the guys that there's only two teams that get to end their year with a win. Everybody else has to lose their last game. Obviously, we wanted to win a state championship, but the next best thing, I think, is to win a third-place game and end the year with a win,” he said.  

The Warriors took home a few league accolades this year, with Caden Correia winning league MVP and Lee taking home coach of the year. Jameson Conley, Carter Pitts, Grayson Beal, and Max Grindy were all named All-League players for the year.  

Now that the season is over, the Warriors will be losing seven players to graduation. Lee is confident his team will be able to reload with their junior class and continue their success next season.  

“There's definitely going to be spots to fill, but we're really excited about the younger guys we had on the bench this year, plus we got a pretty good athletic eighth-grade class that's going to be coming in as freshmen,” Lee said.  

Looking forward to next season, the Warriors hope to reload their roster and make another run. Lee is confident that summer baseball will be beneficial to keeping his players ready for the spring season.  

    Warriors Carter Pitts celebrates with his teammates in the dugout. Pitts was named to the All-League team after the regular season concluded.
  

    Warriors Caden Correia pitching in a previous game for Almira/Coulee-Hartline. Correia was named league MVP for his performance this season.
  

    Warriors Grayson Beal stepping up to bat for Almira/Coulee-Hartline. Beal was named to the All-League team after the regular season.