Trojans Claim 3rd Straight North Region Title

Everett, WA - The Trojans claimed their third straight North Region Title on Sunday evening and their 7th in the past 10 years.  The decade of dominance has spanned three head coaches beginning with Levi Lacey who started the program back up in 2001 after a 20 year hiatus.  Lacey was succeeded by former player JoJo Howie in 2017 who was on the 2013 NWAC Championship team.  Now in his first season as head coach, Parker Guinn has sustained supremacy in the North Region with the 3-Peat. 

Heading into the final weekend of north region play, the Trojans were needing a series sweep over Olympic and Bellevue College to drop a game against Skagit Valley in order for the champion crown to be theirs.  They got the help they needed when Bellevue dropped two games to Skagit Valley in their four game series which meant the Trojans only needed three wins against Olympic as opposed to the original four.  

Games 1 and 2 of the series were played on Friday in Bremerton as the weekend forecast did not look overly promising.  Kenji Miller got the start in the first game and went 7 shutout innings, striking out 10 batters.  Sophomore Ayden Adams came in to pitch the final two innings, and held the Rangers scoreless, not allowing a hit and giving up a single walk.  With the Ranger offense kept in check by Miller and Adams, the Trojan bats got it done putting up a run in the first inning, two in the 5th and two more in the 9th to cap off the 5-0 win.  Ben Steck came up big, going 3-4 with a double and a home run, driving in three of the five runs.  Ryan Contreras contributed for the other two coming up with a timely single in the 9th to drive in the insurance runs.  

Game 2 was again dominated on the hill by the Trojan pitchers, starting with Dylan Matsuoka who went 6 scoreless innings, gave up a lone hit, and struck out 12.  Rueben Gut in to relieve, and went two more scoreless innings, and only gave up a lone single while striking out three.  Elias Holbert was called upon to close the game and he got a ground out and a pair of strikeouts to finish the second shutout of the day.  Offensively the Trojans were not as sharp as game one, but they did enough to get the job done.  Konnor Palmeira and Cameron Green both came through with solo home runs, and a Braeden Terry triple, scored another to finish 3-0.  

The final games of the series were slated to be played on Sunday in Everett, but the weather was not looking to be too cooperative.  Game times were moved from 1pm and 4pm to 11am and 2pm, but a large rain cell moved through the Seattle area which caused the games to be postponed until 5pm.  The weather then cleared by 3pm which then allowed for a 4pm start. After an inning and a half of play and the Trojans leading 2-1, the rain came back, causing another delay that lasted over an hour and a half.  Finally, after 6pm the game resumed with clear skies.  The Trojans picked up the game from the bottom of the second with runners on first and second, and capitalized to score a total of 4 runs that inning to bring the score to 6-1.  That score would hold through the next five and a half innings before the Trojan offense would explode again in the bottom of the 8th, driving in five more runs to enact the 10-run rule and finishing the game on a walk off single by Xavier Ulrich by a final score of 11-1.  

Everett used a total of six pitchers that combined for 7 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, and struck out 12.  Of the group, Preston Moritz got the win going three innings and giving up 2 hits, no runs, while striking out three.  Several Trojans had a good offensive day, but Xavier Ulrich and Ben Steck led the way going 3 for 5 and 1 for 2 respectively while each driving in a pair of runs.  

With the first game delayed for several hours, not finishing game 1 of the day until after 8pm, more rain in the forecast coming, along with the fact that game 4 had no bearing on the final standings it was decided to cancel the 4th game.  

With the #1 seed from the North Region, EvCC earns an automatic birth to Longview among the final 8.  They will await the winner of the south super regional which consists of Skagit Valley, Lower Columbia, and host Umpqua CC.