WIAA Class 3A, 4A baseball roundup: Lincoln of Seattle (3A), Eastlake (4A) capture first program state championships

EVERETT, Wash – Oh, the pleasure Eastlake has of having two Division I pitchers on its roster.

With Oregon State commit Bryce Johnson getting things done in the semifinals, it was Washington State commit Dylan Skolfield's turn to seal the deal against Sumner in the Class 4A championship Saturday night.

Skolfield did just that and more in a 13-1 win over the Spartans to help give Eastlake its first state championship in program history.

Skolfield pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up just one run and struck out six before reaching his pitch limit.

Eastlake held a 5-1 lead through six innings, but an eight-run outburst from the Wolves in the top of the seventh blew open a game that was already trending Eastlake's way.

Eastlake coach Frank Smith said he's seen his team start to hit better over the last couple of weeks as the weather has gotten better.

Wheter it rained or not, it didn't look like anything was going to slow the Wolves down Saturday night.

"We started putting our hitting together to match our pitching because we knew we had the pitching," Smith said. "Once we started to get some offense we just took off."

The win over Sumner marked the 19th consecutive win for Eastlake, who hadn't lost since dropping a game to Skyline in the beginning of April.

Sumner had its opportunities in the game. Its best came in the bottom of the fourth when its first three hitters reached base.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, though, Skolfield retired the next three hitters.

"I knew I was in a hole, but I trusted my guys behind me," Skolfield said. "My coaches trust me, my teammates trust me and I was able to get through it."

Sumner's lone run of the game came on an RBI groundout from Jake Bresnahan.

CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP: LINCOLN OF SEATTLE 6, LAKE WASHINGTON 3

Seeking its first state championship in school history, Lincoln of Seattle knew it would have its hands full against 3A KingCo power Lake Washington.

The Kangaroos hadn't given up a single run in its three games in the state tournament – a streak that continued through the first two innings of the title game.

But Lincoln broke through, scoring all six of its runs in the top of the third inning en route to a 6-3 win.

The Lynx laid down four successful bunts in that inning and were further helped by timely hits up and down the lineup.

Lake Washington got three of those runs back in the next inning, but that's all the scoring that was in store for the game.

Lincoln pitcher Nicholas Saelens threw a complete game and struck out five.

"I was so excited," Saelens said of taking the mound. "This is a great team and I love everyone behind me. That's a great team over there in Lake Washington – they've been tearing up KingCo all year. We knew we wanted them here and it just feels awesome."

After shutting its doors in 1981, Lincoln reopened in 2019.

Lincoln coach Ray Atkinson said he had championship aspirations for the program once the school reopened, but he admitted he didn't think it would come so quickly.

"I never really saw it coming until toward the end of this year," Atkinson said. "You imagine it, you strive for it, you take the journey. We took the journey to it and doggone it, it happened."