ANACORTES — Tyler Haggett didn’t hang his head.

Sure, the Meadowdale pitcher coughed up a three-run lead in the district championship game to give Anacortes a chance in extra innings. Though he couldn’t take back a couple of pitches that put his team in a brief predicament, he did something perhaps even better.

Haggett smashed a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. The ball sailed over the left-field wall at Daniels Field in Anacortes, lifting the Mavericks to a 6-4 victory and the Northwest 3A District title May 17.

“It was redemption,” said Haggett, who improved to 8-2 after hitting his second homer of the season and striking out all three Anacortes batters in the bottom of the eighth. “It was like, ‘You did this to me, so I’ll try to turn this around and do it right back to you.’”

Haggett, who allowed two runs in the sixth and Will Shorthouse’s game-tying homer in the bottom of the seventh, never showed one ounce of concern. He simply took his lumps and then delivered some of his own.

“I was angry, but things like that don’t frustrate me,” said Haggett, a left-hander who struck out nine. “Things like that happen in baseball. You’ve just got to accept it and play hard.”

The 16-7 Mavericks, who entered districts as the No. 4 seed, will begin the regional tournament 10 a.m. Saturday at Skagit Valley College against the No. 3 team from District III.

Meadowdale coach Ron Martin wasn’t sure what to expect from his team when the season began. Though many key players returned, the team lost, among others, Ben Mummey, who was the team’s top pitcher and hitter last year.

It didn’t take him long to figure out that Haggett was up to the task of filling Mummey’s cleats.

“There were so many question marks coming into the season,” said Martin, whose team finished fourth in the predominately Class 4A Western Conference South Division. “He’s become our best pitcher and our best hitter.”

Haggett mastered Anacortes for the first three innings without allowing a baserunner and catcher Richard O’Neill’s second-inning sacrifice fly gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.

Anacortes’ Jake Burns bunted a ball foul on Haggett’s first pitch of the fourth inning, then hit Haggett’s second offering over the left-field wall for the first homer of his career.

Meadowdale first baseman Nick Maddox gave Haggett all the runs he thought he needed in the sixth. Haggett doubled and Ryan Marin singled with one out. Maddox then crunched Tom Baker’s fastball over the left-field wall for a 4-1 lead.

Haggett gave up four of Anacortes’ six hits in succession in the bottom of the inning, allowing two runs to score. The Seahawks threatened more damage, but ended the inning with consecutive hard-hit line drives to third baseman Jensen Evans.

With one out in the seventh, Haggett put Shorthouse in a two-strike hole, then delivered a pitch that was just high enough to be called a ball. One pitch later, Shorthouse tied the score.

The Mavericks, who scratched out a run in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s semifinal victory over Lynden, believed they’d come through again.

“We were confident going into the eighth,” said Maddox, a varsity player along with O’Neill for four seasons. “We had the heart of our order coming up. (Haggett) has been doing a tremendous job all year, both pitching and hitting.”

Aaron Coe is a writer for The Herald in Everett.