Prep Baseball / Class 4A Tournament -- Snohomish Caps Its Startling Run -- Earns Title With Resounding 13-4 Victory

VANCOUVER, Wash. - They've been called long shots and lucky, forever underdogs and unsung.

But call the Snohomish Panthers state champions today.

Snohomish snared the Class 4A baseball title yesterday with a 13-4 victory over Western Conference rival Sehome at Hudson's Bay High School.

The Panthers (22-6) had never been here before, and weren't supposed to be here now. Not, at least, according to their record (six losses) and the state coaches' poll, which ommited them from the top 10. But after shocking previously unbeaten and top-ranked South Kitsap in the semifinals 12-5, Snohomish snubbed the so-called experts with another convincing victory.

"We were glad to come into everything as underdogs," said senior left fielder Travis Nyman, who had a two-run triple in the fourth inning. "We didn't have any pressure on us. All we had to do was play our best and we knew we'd have a good ballgame with them."

The two teams know each other well. This was their sixth meeting of the year and evened the series at 3-3, although technically Snohomish winds up with a 4-3 edge because of a forfeit in the district tournament. The Panthers were anxious to prove their 20-2 romp over Sehome in the district championship game was no fluke.

"We knew each other so well, there were no secrets," Snohomish Coach Kim Hammons said. "It was just, come in and bang heads."

How unlikely was this Snohomish victory? Hammons threw freshman Mike Warmbrodt, a 15-year-old right-hander who later admitted the only similar situation he had been in was in Little League pitching in an all-star game, which his team lost.

"I'm stupid," Hammons said. "I shouldn't be throwing a freshman in the title game. How much common sense is that? But the kid just had an excellent game."

Warmbrodt (5-0) threw four strong innings, allowing an unearned run in the third, before giving up two solo home runs in the fifth. When he started the sixth with two high pitches, Hammons quickly went to senior John Thomas, who finished up for his fifth save of the year. He allowed just two hits, including Paul Kamrar's pinch-hit home run leading off the seventh.

The Panthers took advantage of some shaky Sehome defense early. Their first seven runs were unearned. The Mariners committed five errors. "That was uncharacteristic of our team," Sehome Coach Gary Hatch said.

Sehome (22-6) trailed 5-1 after four innings, but stayed within striking distance with solo homers by Joel Summers and Jason Osborn in the fifth. Snohomish broke it open with eight runs in the sixth with Eric Rodland and Andrew Reifers each punching two-run singles. The Panthers banged six of their nine hits in the inning, chasing starter Justin Sobchuk (8-2).

It was only the second time in the 26-year history of the big-school baseball tournament that two teams from the same league played for the championship. Juanita beat Interlake 6-4 in a 1985 battle of KingCo clubs.

Third-place game

South Kitsap 7, Kamiakin 2 - Nick Kenyon cracked a two-run home run in the top of the first inning and pitched a complete game as the top-ranked Wolves (24-1) finished the season on a high note, winning the consolation game for third and fourth places. No. 4 Kamiakin (22-4), which brought a 16-game winning streak into the Final Four, wound up dropping two straight.