Overbay shuts down Selah, Tumwater advances

Luke Overbay put Tumwater back in the 2A state baseball championship game with a 3-1 semifinal win over Selah on Friday, May 29, in Bellingham. The Tumwater right-hander worked through Selah’s lineup while the Thunderbirds did all of their scoring in the third inning at Joe Martin Stadium. The win sent the No. 2 seed into Saturday’s final one day after the WIAA state semifinals opened at the same site. Selah, the No. 11 seed, finished a playoff run that included wins over Columbia River and Othello. ### How did Tumwater take control against Selah? Tumwater built its lead in one burst. The Chronicle box score showed the Thunderbirds scoring three times in the bottom of the third, which proved enough in a game where runs were scarce. Selah did not score until the seventh inning. Selah starter Young went six innings and allowed four hits, three earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts, according to the box score carried by Yahoo Sports from The Chronicle’s report. (chronline.com) Tumwater’s offense did not need much more because its pitching and defense kept the Vikings from turning early traffic into a larger threat, according to Yakima Herald-Republic’s semifinal coverage. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What did Overbay’s outing look like? Luke Overbay was the central figure in The Chronicle’s account of the semifinal, which described him as shutting down Selah and sending Tumwater back to the championship game. The publication’s photo and game report placed him on the mound throughout the key moments of Friday’s 3-1 result in Bellingham. (sports.yahoo.com) Eli Sports Network’s tournament hub also highlighted Overbay’s control of the game, noting that he worked a one-two-three inning with a strikeout and later helped himself at the plate with a triple. That combination underscored how much of the semifinal ran through Tumwater’s senior arm. ### Why was this a notable step for Tumwater? (chronline.com) The Chronicle framed the win as a return trip for a program with recent state-title history. Its headline said the result sent Tumwater back to the state championship game, and the subheadline said the Thunderbirds were playing for a third title in five years. The report also noted that Luke Overbay had watched his brother Alex and his father, coach Lyle Overbay, win back-to-back 2A state championships when he was younger. (elisportsnetwork.com) The bracket showed Tumwater had already beaten Port Angeles 7-0 and Nathan Hale 5-0 before facing Selah. That meant the Thunderbirds reached the final without allowing a run until the seventh inning of the semifinal. (chronline.com) ### What did Selah’s run look like before the loss? Selah arrived in the semifinal as the No. 11 seed after opening the tournament with an 8-0 win over Columbia River and then beating Othello 8-7 in the quarterfinals. Yakima Herald-Republic described the Vikings as looking little like an underdog during the run to the program’s 17th state semifinal. (maxpreps.com) Friday’s loss ended that push one step short of the championship game. The same bracket listed Selah for the third-place game after the semifinal defeat. ### Who was waiting in the championship game? Bainbridge was the next opponent. (maxpreps.com) State tournament listings showed Bainbridge on the other side of the 2A bracket, and The Chronicle later reported that Tumwater lost to Bainbridge in the title game on Saturday, May 30, on a walk-off. The WIAA tournament calendar listed Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham as the site for the 1A and 2A state baseball finals on May 29-30. That placed Tumwater’s semifinal win over Selah as the step that moved the Thunderbirds into the last game of the season. (wiaa.com) (maxpreps.com)