Things were looking pretty bleak for the Yakima Valley baseball team after dropping the first game of a home doubleheader to Treasure Valley last Wednesday. The Yaks entered the four-game set against the Chukars needing to win at least three to punch their ticket to the playoffs, and a one-run loss in the opener meant YVC had to win out over the final three games.

The Yaks took care of business in the second game at home and then went on the road Saturday — 300 miles away in Ontario, Oregon — and brought home two more wins and the No. 4 seed from the East for the upcoming NWAC Championships.
YVC (14-14 NWAC East, 30-20 overall) got on the board first in Saturday's game one, scoring four runs in the second inning. Starting pitcher Boston Snyder struck out five and allowed just one hit and one earned run over six innings despite allowing six walks. Reliever Austin Dillon closed it out with three scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out four. Offensively, Jackson Walker drove in a pair of runs and Garren Gooler added an RBI (full box score not available).

In the clinching game Saturday afternoon, the Yaks rode starting pitcher Tannon Marsalis' nine-inning, six strikeout performance to claim a 5-2 win. Marsalis struck out eight and didn't allow a run until the seventh, giving up just six hits and three walks for the complete-game victory. Gage Reeser drove in three runs and Walker finished 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead the offense (full box score not available).

Game one last Wednesday at home started off well, with the Yaks taking a 3-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Walker and a two-run single by Cody Densley. Reeser notched RBI hits in the second and fourth innings to stretch the lead to 5-3, but the Chukars took control with two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to hand YVC a 7-6 setback.

Reeser went 3-for-3, Walker finished 2-for-5 and Jaden Estrada went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the eighth. Starter Andre Cephers pitched four innings, allowing four hits, three earned runs and three walks while striking out three. Tristan Pulliam, Gus Musial ran into some trouble in the middle innings before Easton Seeley closed out the game with a scoreless 1 1/3 with two Ks.

YVC got on the board early in game two, taking a 2-0 advantage and then adding to the lead with a solo home run by Gooler in the fifth on the way to a 5-1 victory. Reeser and Walker each drove in a run and Atticus Rogers finished 3-for-4. Dillon was solid in his starting role, giving up six hits and one earned run to go with eight strikeouts over five innings of work. Marsalis pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Snyder closed things out with four strikeouts and no hits allowed over the final two frames.

The Yaks will face Bellevue, the No. 3 seed from the North, on Friday at noon in a loser-out contest at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. The winner will take on Lane, the second seed from the South, in a best-of-three Super Regional.