Dominant pitching helps Spartans repeat as state baseball champs

Published 1:30 am Monday, June 1, 2026

The return of McCrea Curfman couldn’t have been more timely for the Bainbridge Spartan baseball team.

Curfman, who has been out since the regular season finale with a hamstring injury, returned for the 2A state championship against No. 2 seed Tumwater May 30 at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham and got the start on the mound for the No. 1 seed Spartans. The result was eight shutout innings for Curfman, helping lead Bainbridge to its second consecutive state title in a 1-0 victory.

“I think my one job was to go and get outs,” Curfman said. “I wasn’t focused on how many strikeouts [or] whatever; I was focused on getting quick outs, being as efficient as possible.”

The game went to extra innings as both offenses were stymied over seven innings. The Spartans won the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI grounder from senior Tenzing Dikman with the bases loaded. “I kind of really hoped it wasn’t going to be a double play, and then I saw it bounce over the guy’s mitt,” Dikman said. “I don’t honestly remember much after that.”

The common theme for Bainbridge throughout their playoff run was dominant pitching. In their 6-1 semifinal win over Orting, starting pitcher Trey Thompson left the game in the first inning with a toe injury. Eli Tracy stepped in and threw a complete-game one-hitter. Tracy went 3-0 on the mound in the playoffs, earning wins in the district championship against Fife and in the first round of state against Pullman.