After a rocky start in the opening game of the series against Skyview High School, the Battle Ground Tigers responded exactly how head coach Seth Johnson hoped by leaning on dominant pitching, a deep batting order and a one-game-at-a-time mindset.
Now at 5-1 in the 4A Greater St. Helens League after winning the series over Skyview, the Tigers will be playing for a league championship against the Union Titans, who lost the final game of their series with Camas, to also be 5-1 in league action.
Following the 6-0 loss to Skyview, the Tigers tacked on back-to-back dominant wins over the Skyview Storm, including an 8-1 win on Wednesday, April 22 and a 6-0 win on Thursday, April 23. Battle Ground is carrying consistency and complementary baseball right into the most crucial step of the season.
“It was a great way to bounce back from that first game,” Johnson said, adding his thoughts from the first game. “We came out flat. We really had a bad inning …”
Gill III delivered a one-hit performance and a string of 11 strikeouts in the 8-1 win on April 22, with Axel Massie coming in to pitch relief in dominant fashion, as well. Collin McGowan followed up with another one-hit performance and racked up eight strikeouts on the mound. To cap off the shutout win on April 23, Cooper McGowan came in for one inning of relief.
“Both of them were pretty fabulous,” Johnson said of his starting pitchers.
While the big three of Battle Ground — Gill III and the McGowan brothers — have drawn attention all season, Johnson said the bottom half of the batting order has played a major role in the team’s league success, helping spark rallies and extend pressure offensively.
“The bottom half of the lineup of both games yesterday and today put balls in play, got things going,” Johnson said. “I mean, they’re the reason why we won the games, really. We’ve definitely been playing complementary baseball up and down the entire lineup.”
The well-rounded lineup has been supported by an established pitching rotation that also helps save arms from overuse. Rather than adjusting roles and appearances, Johnson said the Tigers settled into a rhythm built around multiple reliable arms that push each other to be great.
“We knew we had three or four really solid arms, and so it was whoever was first up gets that start,” Johnson said, adding that fell on the shoulders of Ethan Adams to start game one in the first league series against Camas High School. “And I think that they’ve been playing off each other, you know, competing with each other. It’s nice to have three quality arms. We’re pretty fortunate with that.”
As the stakes rise, Johnson has emphasized staying present rather than looking ahead, a message reinforced daily in practice.
“It’s one pitch at a time,” he said. “You can’t get ahead of yourself.”
But the Tigers have now earned the right to talk about the future, he told his team after the final game against Skyview.
“We never talk about things usually in the future until you get the opportunity to play for the league championship,” he said. “... It’s what you play the game for. We want them to embrace this, be excited about it. And I understand it’s OK to have anxiety, right? Breathe through it because when you don’t have anxiety, then you don’t have these opportunities, right?”
The Tigers were slated to begin the league title journey against Union at home on Monday, April 27, and on the road Tuesday, April 28, but results for both games were unavailable at press time. The 4A GSHL conclusion is slated to take place at home on Thursday, April 30, at 4:30 p.m.
