SEATTLE — During the 2023 high school baseball postseason, Edmonds-Woodway embraced its ability to stay engaged in tough situational games. After ending up with their fifth-straight trip into the Class 3A state tournament, the Warriors fell just shy of an appearance at Funko Field in the semifinal round.
Edmonds-Woodway claimed the district tournament crown last weekend over Mountlake Terrace in a walk-off victory, and took the No. 6 seed into a loser-out doubleheader at the Southwest Athletic Complex on Saturday.
The Warriors used a six-run, sixth-inning rally in Game 1 to take down No. 11 Southridge 7-4 before falling to third-seeded West Seattle 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
“The only thing I can say is that I’m going to miss these guys,” assistant coach Robley Corsi said. “They played their tails off, competed every pitch. … One bad inning, and we don’t get to practice on Monday.”
In the second leg of the doubleheader, the Warriors (19-5) held a 1-0 lead over the Wildcats (20-3) through the top of the third as junior Thomas Shults singled, plating a run. West Seattle struck right back in the bottom of the frame, hanging up three runs behind a two-RBI single and an RBI double.
Edmonds-Woodway was in a similar position in Game 1, finding itself in a 3-0 hole only to find a way to avoid elimination. However, the Warriors couldn’t harness enough offensive firepower the second time around, and fell to the Wildcats, who had beaten 14th-seeded Stadium early in the day to advance.
Edmonds-Woodway found its best chance to get back in it in the sixth, when West Seattle starter Miles Gosztola was pulled off the mound after an 107-pitch outing. Senior Jens Simonsen drew the start and went the distance for Edmonds-Woodway, while senior Dylan Schlenger got the Warriors through Game 1.
Despite having runners on first and second base with one out, Edmonds-Woodway couldn’t get its bats to pop off for a go-ahead inning, as they had done in the past.
With a freshman-heavy group, the Warriors are set to return the majority of their roster next season, but the Edmonds-Woodway coaching staff relied heavily on a corps of four seniors this year.
Simonsen, Schlenger, Grant Oliver and Drew Warner all received high praises from Corsi.
“This team had no quit to them,” Corsi said. “That’s the beauty of this thing. We have four seniors who are probably the best leaders I’ve seen in my 10 years here, it’s tough. … The reason why (the underclassmen) have grown so immensely is because of those four seniors. That’s really been my philosophy throughout my time here, you gotta pass off the gift you’ve been given. I can’t say enough about them.”
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