Decatur ended a 14-year postseason drought in 2013 and is now looking to make this their new tradition.
In a year when they transitioned back to 4A after four years spent in 3A, the Golden Gators have competed for a division crown and held their own against some of the best teams in the state.
Their spot in the playoffs was secured with a 1-0 win over the South Puget Sound League North champion, Todd Beamer. The Titans swept the regular season series 3-0 to win the SPSL Northwest.
“We know when we play our best, we can beat anyone,” Sites said.
It was a pitcher’s duel between Decatur’s Garrett Westberg and Beamer’s Taylor Davis, the teams’ two aces. The only batter who found any consistent success in the game was Decatur’s Kaden Jacobs who went 3-3 on the day with a walk.
Westberg pitched nine innings and gave up only one hit, a walk and struck out 14 batters. The lone hit for Beamer was by Davis on a bunt single.
Davis pitched eight and two-thirds innings, giving up eight hits, three walks and struck out 10 batters.
For Beamer, it was their second consecutive extra-inning game as they went 11 innings against Yelm. Neither pitcher allowed much of anything throughout the first eight innings.
It wasn’t until Swanson’s lead-off double for the Gators in the ninth that either team saw a real opportunity at making noise offensively. Swanson advanced to third on Nathaniel Sagdahl’s sacrifice fly.
With two outs in the inning, the first real mistake by either pitcher ended up giving Decatur the win. Swanson scored on a wild pitch and was swarmed by coaches and teammates shortly thereafter.
“The resiliency we have developed over the last couple weeks is really where you see the growth in this team,” said Sites.
For Beamer, their season ends with a 15-11 record and an South Puget Sound League North title.
Decatur advanced to play their final district playoff game with a spot already guaranteed in the state playoffs. They fell 16-2 to Gig Harbor.
While they only scored 5 runs in the district playoffs, it was all they needed to advance.
“We just need to stay with ourselves offensively,” Sites said. “We faced some really good pitching the last couple of weeks with Davis from Beamer and the kids from Puyallup and Emerald Ridge.”
The Gators were led by their pitching in the postseason with strong performances by Westberg and Isaiah Hatch.
“Our pitching has always been there,” Sites said. “We just haven’t needed it as much this season as we did the last couple of weeks.”
They will open the playoffs at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 23 at Yakima County Stadium against the Wenatchee Panthers. Wenatchee won the Big 9 League with a 19-2 record and are the top seed out of district six.
