MILL CREEK — The Jackson High School baseball team’s first practice of the 2025 season didn’t involve bats, balls or gloves.
No dirt in sight — just books, desks and chairs in the classroom of Kyle Peacocke, who stepped away from coaching after the 2024 season, having won four of the past five Class 4A state softball titles at Jackson.
Joe Fleury had taken over a baseball program that was solid year after year, but — save for a spectacular undefeated season during Alan Briggs’ one year as head coach in 2006 — the Timberwolves seemed to fall a little short of their own lofty expectations.
Fleury put the seniors up front and asked a simple question: “What do you want from this season?”
“Every single one of those seniors said they wanted to feel like a family, they wanted to feel like brothers, and they wanted to compete for a state championship,” said Fleury, who coached the junior varsity team prior to this season. “That’s always been the goal, and we knew we had the talent.”
Jackson head coach Joe Fleury talks to his team during practice on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
According to the players, mission accomplished on the family front. Next up is trying to capture the state title. The Timberwolves will continue that quest in a Class 4A semifinal, 4 p.m. Friday at Parker-Faller Field, located at Yakima Valley College. Fresh off upsets over No. 7 North Creek and No. 2 Kamiakin, the 19-7 Timberwolves will face third-seeded Eastlake for the right to play in Saturday’s championship game.
“Our teammates all love each other,” said senior first baseman Sam Craig. “We’re all playing hard for each other, for our seniors and our new coaching staff to put Jackson on the map.”
That love became tough love momentarily when the Timberwolves lost four of six midseason. They reminded each other that their heads had swollen a bit and that they had much more to accomplish. They got it going in the right direction and will enter the semis having won five of their past six. Despite the bumps along the way, it’s been quite a ride.
Jackson’s Lucas Poindexter makes a throw from third base during practice on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” said third baseman Lucas Poindexter, who had a hit in each of the first two state playoff games — a 5-0 shutout of North Creek, and a 6-4 nailbiter over Kamiakin in its hometown of Kennewick. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. I feel like I’ve poured so much into this program, mentally and physically, and it’s given so much back to me. All the great moments I’ve had, my teammates and my coaches — it’s amazing.”
After a disappointing first-round district playoff exit in 2024, the team came into the spring of 2025 with something to prove. Fleury, who credits assistant coach Scotty Hameister and volunteers David Rabe and Topher Ferreira for helping lead the team this season, said he and his assistants worked more on the team’s mentality, feeling like the talent and skills were already largely in place.
With plenty of proof already delivered this season, the Timberwolves hope to continue to show that the double-digit seed was not justified. Part of that bracket placement may have been a result of the District 1-2 consolation final, when Jackson lost 14-0 with a state berth already locked up.
That defeat came at the hands of Eastlake.
With much more on the line this time, and some more preparation for Eastlake’s small-ball approach, Jackson hopes for a different result in the reunion.
“They like to run a lot, and bunt a lot,” said Noah Langsea, a junior middle infielder. “They’re a very shifty team, and that kind of caught us off guard that one game.”
Jackson High School’s embattled baseball field might also play a role this weekend. The Timberwolves practice and play many of their home games on a grass field that doesn’t much resemble a golf putting green. “One of the roughest fields in the district,” according to Fleury. Though Parker-Faller Field might have fewer tough hops, the Yakima dirt and grass surface requires some adjustment for teams accustomed to turf.
Jackson’s Quin Johns makes a catch during an outfielder drill during practice on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
While the infield held up in sometimes adverse fielding circumstances, Fleury believes his outfield of Hawkeye Delgado (left), Ashton Bergman (center) and Quin Johns (right) gives opposing hitters very little room to find hits.
“They run down everything,” he said.
Jackson will most likely rely once again on senior pitcher Drew Pepin, who pitched a complete-game shutout in the first round. Though Pepin isn’t known for throwing heat — he’s typically in the 78-81 mph range according to Fleury and Poindexter — he throws strikes and gives a strong defense a chance to make plays.
“He mixes his pitches really well,” Poindexter said. “He can throw every pitch he has for a strike. … Mentally, he has a really great approach.”
“He’s been a freaking ace,” Fleury added. “He’s got 60-something innings with less than a 1 ERA. Every time he’s on the mound, I just have supreme confidence that he’s going to be able to do what he wants to do.”
On Friday, Jackson hopes to do what it wants to do in Yakima.
“This weekend’s our last weekend with Jackson High School baseball,” Craig said. “Kind of sad… but it is sure going to be a fun last two games for us. Especially if we make it to where we want to make it.”
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