Spartans throw no-hitter, securing school’s first state baseball title

Some dream of winning a state championship, and some dream of throwing a no-hitter. But the No. 2 seed Bainbridge Spartans baseball team accomplished both May 31 at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham, throwing a combined no-hitter en route to a 3-0 win over top-seed Anacortes to claim the school’s first state baseball title.

“This team has been amazing,” first-year Spartan coach Thomas Henshaw said, who also used to play for Bainbridge. “The community and all the people that came up to the game to support us, it’s just been incredible.”

Spartan Trey Thompson pitched six no-hit innings, which included 13 strikeouts. Braden French finished off the no-hitter by closing out the game in the seventh inning to seal the state title.

“I wasn’t even thinking about it [the no-hitter],” Thompson said, who is committed to the University of Oregon. “It was all just an adrenaline rush.”

Spartan A.J. Larsen was hit by a pitch in the second at-bat of the game and Duncan Bos was walked, giving Bainbridge two baserunners in the top of the first inning. Nonetheless, Will Rohrbacher grounded into a double play, ending the scoring opportunity for Bainbridge.

Spartan starting pitcher Thompson earned two strikeouts and a fly out in the bottom of the first, keeping the game scoreless entering the second.

Bainbridge got their bats working in the top of the second with a Henry Olsen RBI single to right field, scoring Braden French and giving the Spartans the lead at 1-0.

Thompson kept up the strong pitching in the bottom of the second with three strikeouts.

An errant throw to first base from Thompson in an attempt to pick off a batter resulted in the Seahawks runner advancing to second, giving Anacortes its first scoring opportunity of the game in the top of the fourth. Soon after, the Seahawks were able to get two baserunners in scoring position, but Thompson shut the door with another strikeout to end the inning.

A.J. Larsen kicked off the hitting for the Spartans in the top of the sixth, singling to center field. Bos and Will Rohrbacher managed to get on base via consecutive walks, giving the Spartans their first scoring opportunity since the second inning. Larsen was walked home and Wyndham Kockenash hit an RBI single to left field, making the score of the game 3-0.

French was subbed in for Thompson to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh with the no-hitter still intact. The pressure didn’t seem to bother French as he got three quick outs, including a strikeout to end the game and seal the state championship for the Spartans.

“These guys are having the time of their lives,” Henshaw said. “I’m in my 40s, but I feel like I’m a high schooler now.”

“The community is just going to uplift this team even more, and we’re going to build this program,” Thompson said.

In the semifinals, Bainbridge beat the No. 3 seed Selah Vikings 2-0 May 30, thanks to a complete game shutout from McCrea Curfman and some timely hitting late in the game by Thompson.

Curfman got the start on the mound for Bainbridge against Selah, forcing three quick outs in the top of the first inning. The Spartan batters didn’t do much in the bottom of the first, keeping the game scoreless.

Curfman continued his strong performance on the mound in the second inning, forcing another three quick outs after letting up a single. The game remained scoreless through two innings.

Curfman kept up his strong pitching performance, forcing three consecutive outs in the top of the third and keeping the game locked at zero.

The Spartans got their first baserunners of the game in the bottom of the third with a single to left field from Dom D’Amico and a single to center field from Curfman. Nonetheless, the Bainbridge offense couldn’t get a baserunner home.

Spartans Bos and Rohrbacher got out in the bottom of the fourth, but French was able to hit a line-drive single to left field. However, Thompson flew out to right field, ending the bottom half of the inning for the Spartans.

Curfman walked the first Selah batter of the sixth inning, the first time the Spartans did that all game. The Vikings followed that up with a single and Curfman later hit a batter with a pitch, loading the bases for Selah. But Curfman responded by getting Bainbridge out of the inning with a strikeout.

The Spartans scored the first and only runs of the game off a Thompson 2 RBI single to center field in the bottom of the sixth, giving Selah only one more opportunity to make a comeback.

Curfman forced three consecutive groundouts in the top of the seventh inning to secure the victory.

Spartan Braden French delivers the final pitch of the game that secured a combined no-hitter and Bainbridge’s first state baseball title in school history May 31 in Bellingham.

Spartan Trey Thompson struck out 13 batters as part of a combined no-hitter Bainbridge threw against Anacortes to capture the school’s first state baseball title May 31 in Bellingham.