TACOMA — Battle Ground baseball coach Billy Hayes called this one of the toughest losses he’s endured as a coach.
Not only how because of how the Tigers’ Class 4A state regional game versus Kentwood ended Saturday — a 3-2 walk-off loss after the Conquerors scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning — but who it affects: the players he calls his sons.
“It’s going to burn for awhile,” Hayes said. “Once we reflect on it, we’ll reflect on it as a good season.”
Trailing by one entering the seventh inning, the Conks had three of their seven hits in the final frame, and scored both runs with one out. That late-game momentum carries into the regional final later on Saturday, where Kentwood bested Kennedy Catholic of Burien 3-2 to return to the state semifinals. Last year, Kentwood was the 4A state runner-up.
Before the seventh, Battle Ground (18-6) never trailed. First came a 1-0 lead courtesy of Isaiah Smith’s first-inning RBI single. That score lasted until the fifth when Austin Adams made it a 2-0 game with his RBI hit to right.
In between were stellar pitching performances.
Battle Ground starter Tanner McDonald only allowed three hits in 4-plus innings, and once reliever Tyler Russell settled in after Kentwood cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth, he, too, was lights out. The Washington State commit used his off-speed pitches to strike out the side in the sixth — all swinging.
Then, the tide turned in favor of Kentwood in the seventh.
And it began with the bottom of its lineup: Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Matt Franceschina and Tyler Tan, had back-to-back hits. Lead-off hitter Tre’Sean Steele was intentionally walked to load the bases and Shane McGuire’s sacrifice fly tied the game.
The bases were still loaded for Cole Trotignon, whose fly ball was in and out of the glove in right-center field, allowing the game-winning run to cross home plate.
Tigers catcher Gunner Talkington, one of the eight seniors on BG’s roster, said the sting of the loss leaves a bad taste in his and his teammates’ mouths. He’s one of three seniors who have been full-time varsity players since their freshmen seasons, which also was the last time Battle Ground made 4A regionals before Saturday.
“It’s not what we wanted. It’s now how we wanted to finish,” said Talkington, who had one of the four Tiger hits. “It hurts for a lot of us. We’ve been through a lot together.”
It might’ve been a slow start to the season for the reigning 4A state runners up, but the hitting is coming alive at the right time, said Kentwood starting pitcher Dyson Johnson. The Conks face 4A North Puget Sound League rival Kentlake in next Saturday’s second state semifinal game.
“We have the momentum right now,” said Johnson, who also went 1-for-3 against the Tigers. “We’re peaking at the right time.”
