First loss comes in final

YAKIMA – Seattle Lutheran’s relentless offensive attack and the strong arm of Evan Clements were too much for Colfax to handle in the State 2B baseball championship and the Bulldogs fell 10-6 at Parker Field on Saturday afternoon.

Colfax finished the season 25-1 with the second runner-up finish in school history.

Clements, a rangy right-handed junior, came in and threw 4 2/3 innings of strong relief, keeping the Bulldogs off-balance despite giving up three runs.

“We knew he was there. You don’t see ones like him much,” Colfax coach Mike Parrish said. “I was just hoping that if we saw him, it was when we had a 5-2 lead.”

The Bulldogs never had the chance to lead. The high-scoring Saints picked up where they left off in Friday’s 14-7 semifinal win over Mossyrock, scoring three runs in the first inning and nine over the first five frames.

By the time Colfax batted in the fifth inning, it trailed 9-3.

After a stellar complete-game pitching performance by Brandon Hoadley in the semifinals, Colfax was forced to try the committee approach for the title. None of the three arms the Bulldogs tried could slow the Saints for long.

Conner Mullan had three hits and Beau Besaw and Keegan White each had two for the Saints. Only once did Colfax pitching get the Saints retired without a runner on base.

More confounding for Parrish was the dearth of offense other than JJ Robinson and Tanner Gay. Sophomore shortstop Robinson slapped four hits – he was a home run short of the cycle – and Gay had two doubles. Colfax managed just two hits other than that.

“Our kids can hit, we just didn’t have as many today as we normally do,” Parrish said. “But, let’s be honest. They were good.”

Despite the sour taste of a loss in a game he had focused on for a year – Parrish acknowledged Friday night that the 2010 team was the only Colfax team he’s coached for whom the state title was a publicly discussed goal – the veteran coach was philosophical.

“How often do you get this chance?” he asked. “I’d rather be second than not here.

“Somebody has to be second. I just don’t like it being me.”