YAKIMA — Cresting a postseason wave of dominant pitching and defense, Archbishop Murphy captured its first-ever Class 1A state baseball championship May 29 with a 9-0 victory over one of the pedigree programs in the state, the Okanogan Bulldogs.
The Wildcats, who finished their second season under coach Ed Gay with an 18-6 record, didn’t allow a single run in four state-tournament games, winning regional and state titles in their first try at each.
Okanogan, in the title game for the fourth time since 1998, went home with the runnerup trophy for the third time in that stretch. The Bulldogs finished the season 18-8.
ATM’s Jeff Arkell was dominant on the mound for the second time in the state tournament, scattering three hits, walking two and striking out five. He allowed just one batter — leadoff hitter Lee Morrison — to reach third base.
Arkell said he prepared for the championship game with one thing in mind — not being the pitcher who let the scoreless streak end.
“I was really nervous early, but our defense has been great all year,” he said. “That’s been the key all year. We’ve had barely any errors all season.”
Arkell (5-1) wasted little time making sure he had all the offense he would need.
With one out in the first, Arkell reached base on an error, stole second and scored on a sharp single by Friday’s winning pitcher, Nick Karthas. Karthas, who threw 12 brilliant innings in beating league rival Concrete in the semifinals, likewise took care of himself in that game, leading off the bottom of the 12th inning Friday with a double. His courtesy runner, Jake Lyons, scored the winning run when Alex Burch doubled on the next pitch.
Arkell then duplicated Karthas’ mound work, retiring 11 of the first 12 men he faced.
“Thirty-three scoreless innings is a lot,” Gay said after his squad picked up the traveling trophy. “We played real strong defense and made the plays today.
“A lot of these kids have been in this situation (playing for a state title) and they knew what it felt like.”
They showed that in the third inning, turning their 33rd double play of the season, a nifty 4-6-3 play that erased Joany Fonseca after he reached base on an error.
The Wildcats added to their 1-0 lead in the second as Ian Telge and Brent McCann each doubled, McCann going the opposite way at Gay’s suggestion. Telge scored on McCann’s hit and McCann scored two outs later on a single by Patrick Ackerman.
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