In mid-April, Tumwater lost a road matchup with Aberdeen and a home matchup against W.F. West on back-to-back days.
While the final results were disappointing, Tumwater coach Lyle Overbay said that the way the Thunderbirds competed proved to him that they were capable of a deep postseason run.
“You could see that they were not panicked, they wanted to play hard, and they knew that they could compete,” Overbay said. “I think that’s when it clicked for them. We (coaches) have always known that they’ve got it. It’s just a matter of putting them in that right spot and getting them to believe it.”
In the weeks since, the Thunderbirds have proved their coaching staff right.
Tumwater hasn’t lost since, and its latest win, a 6-1 victory over Aberdeen in a 2A District 4 Semifinal, sends the T-Birds back to the district title game for the fifth time in the last six years.
The victory also sends Tumwater to the state tournament for the fifth year in a row.
“That was our goal,” Tumwater senior Jimmy Womach said. “Get the first two out of the way, then deal with the third one later. I’m super pumped, especially going back again.”
Womach was the star of the show on the mound for the T-Birds, as he allowed just three hits and an unearned run while striking out six in a complete game.
It took him just 84 pitches, and he faced just four batters over the minimum.
Womach said that he threw his changeup more than he had throughout the year, and he continued to pound his fastball and mix in his curveball to keep the Bobcats off balance.
“It just gives them a little second to see it a little more,” Overbay said. “Now that 82 mile per hour fastball is 85, 86 because they got to see it for a split second longer. Him throwing that for a strike is big … It does a lot of good things when it’s in the strike zone.”
Offensively, the T-Birds gave Womach some run support early.
Womach helped himself by beating out a fielder’s choice to bring home a run in the first, and in the third, Luke Overbay hit a two-run single to left to extend the lead to three.
“It gives you a little bit of breathing room,” Womach said. “I don’t gotta be necessarily perfect and try to do all I can. I can let the defense work a little bit.”
Aberdeen got a run back in the fourth, but Tumwater responded with another pair in the bottom half of the frame. Charlie Crawford stole home on a first and third play from Aberdeen, and Peyton Davis hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 5-1.
The leadoff hitter in the inning, Crawford, drew a walk after being down 1-2 in the count, and Lyle Overbay highlighted how the leadoff batter reaching base changed the complexion of the rest of the frame.
“That changed the whole atmosphere of how it puts pressure on them,” Lyle Overbay said. “We got (the Aberdeen pitcher) in situations where we put some pressure on him, and those don’t happen if he doesn’t get on base.”
Luke Overbay added another RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth.
Tumwater (19-4) will play for its second straight district title on Friday against Columbia River, which beat W.F. West 2-1 in the second semifinal.
The Thunderbirds lost their previous five district title game appearances before breaking through thanks to a walk-off home run from Derek Thompson last spring.
“I told them, we punched our ticket, but we’re not done,” Lyle Overbay said. “It’s just about competing. Just getting good at-bats against good teams … It’s gonna be a battle.”
Regardless of Friday’s outcome, Womach and Tumwater’s other 10 seniors have guaranteed themselves at least two more games. The Thunderbirds will learn their state seeding on Sunday, and next Saturday, they’ll begin their state tournament run in the Round of 16.
“We’re ready,” Womach said. “We’ll go to work (Thursday), practice, and then come back super strong … I’ve known all these guys for four years. I’m glad I get another week with them.”
