Freeman baseball team eyes state tournament win

Freeman baseball is primed to go into uncharted territory.

They want to win the school’s first state baseball championship.

They’ve come close. A year ago Freeman reached the state semifinals, where the Scotties were blanked, 4-0, by eventual state champion Hoquiam and came home with a fourth-place trophy.

In 2014, the Scotties had the misfortune to open the state tournament against eventual state champion Naches Valley, 1-0, in the first round.

“This group has won a lot of baseball games together,” coach Chad Ripke said. “They’re 57-14 over the last three years and they’re up for the challenge. They know what it takes to get to the final four, they know what it takes to reach the state playoffs.”

This year the Scotties face a difficult draw. They open the state tournament Saturday against Zillah, with the winner of a first-round game between Naches Valley and Cashmere awaiting the victor.

“We have the toughest pod, the toughest regional in the 1A tournament,” Ripke said. “But these guys are up to the challenge.”

Seven Scotties are veterans of the last two state tournament runs, and several of the team’s sophomore class are now embarking on their second state tournament run.

And frankly, Ripke said this team’s chemistry was forged even earlier, playing together on an American Legion team that reached the state finals when this year’s senior class were freshmen.

“There’s no panic with this group,” Ripke said. “They’re resilient. They believe in each other’s abilities. This is a unique team in that sense – there’s such a close bond with this group. Most of them grew up playing together and there’s a strong sense of brotherhood with them.”

Sophomore pitcher McKabe Cottrell is 9-1 heading into Saturday’s game with Zillah and was named the Northeast A League Most Valuable Player. Freeman placed five players on the All-NEA first team and three more on the second team.

Those postseason honors don’t tell the whole story, the coach insists.

Freeman did not have a regular lineup until the final third of the regular season, what with injuries and players taking in-season vacations with their families.

“We’ve had that next-man-up kind of attitude all season long,” Ripke said. “They remind me of our state championship team in wrestling that way. They’re going to give you everything they’ve got every time out.

“Truthfully, you can’t put it into words, and when you try to it sounds kind of trite. Not until you’ve been in that moment with the game, the season on the line. Kids learn through experience – through doing. And once they have, they’re more likely to succeed. This group has been to a state final four and they know how lousy it feels to go home empty-handed. They’ve been to two district finals and they’ve won two.”

Ripke watched Zillah earn its place in the state tournament Monday.

“They got rained out Saturday and I was able to run down to Richland and watch their game,” Ripke said. “I have a pretty good scouting report on them – in fact, the only thing I haven’t seen is their No. 1 pitcher. He didn’t pitch Monday, but I’ve been told he throws somewhere in the mid-80s with a nasty slider.”

Ripke said his team will have to be patient and not help by swinging at pitches outside the strike zone.

“We have to be cautiously aggressive,” he said.

What the Zillah starter faces will be formidable.

Cottrell is hitting .441 and catcher, Jack Paukert, is right behind him at .370. J.T. Neely hits .328 and Keegan Cottrell sports a .348 batting average while Simon Rooney is hitting .352.

“We have never relied on any one guy,” the coach said. “That’s one of our strengths.”

And the Scotties will not be looking past Zillah.

“Definitely,” the coach said. “We’re going to throw our No. 1 guy and not worry about the next game until this one is over. You have to do it that way. You don’t want to hold anything back and then live with the regrets if it doesn’t work out.”