The Meadowdale Mavericks’ hopes of advancing to the WIAA 3A state high school baseball tournament later this month were dashed when the Mavs fell to the Stanwood Spartans 6-4 in a winner-to-state, loser-out District 1 Baseball Tournament game played Saturday at Funko Field in Everett.

The loss came after Meadowdale committed six errors in the contest, five in a two-inning stretch when the Spartans scored all of their runs.

“Yes, it’s disappointing,” said Mavs Coach Darren Watkins. “But that’s baseball. Sometimes things just don’t go your way.”

The Spartans tallied half of their runs in the fourth inning and their final three in the fifth, all unearned off Meadowdale starting pitcher Broderick Bluhm.

Stanwood started the bottom of the fourth with Brandt Gilbertson earning a walk. The senior reached second base via a Braedon Requa sacrifice bunt — then the real trouble for the Mavs began.

As a result of Meadowdale errors, the Spartans’ Treyton Mascarenas got on base and then advanced, and Gilbertson scored. Then Mascarenas and Spartan teammate Jordan Lee –who had been awarded first base after getting hit by a pitch — scored on a two-run single by Mason Goodson. Three more Meadowdale errors in the fifth inning helped bring in the second trio of Stanwood runs. 

The Mavs tried to mount a late-game comeback with three runs of their own in the sixth inning, courtesy of RBI doubles by Nicholas Banez and Nicholas Zardis and an RBI triple off the bat of Zaid Flynn. Meadowdale added one more run in the top of the seventh with a sacrifice fly by Brandon Brunette — bringing cheers from the Meadowdale fans in attendance — but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the Spartans’ big lead.

Meadowdale stranded eight runners in the contest, and had baserunners in scoring position in each of the first four innings. But the Mavs failed to get any of them home and couldn’t score in the first inning despite loading the bases with just one out.

“You’ve got to give credit to their pitcher,” Watkins said in reference to Mount Vernon’s Mason Goodson. “He was strong; he shut us down when he needed to.”

Goodson earned the victory for Stanwood, the No. 3 seed in the district tournament, by scattering five hits over five-and-two-thirds innings and striking out 11 Mavericks.

Meadowdale’s Bluhm was saddled with the loss after six innings of work, yielding six hits — all singles — and striking out five.

With the win, Stanwood heads to the 3A state baseball tourney for just the third time in their school history. Meadowdale, which had been the district tournament’s No. 4 seed, finished its 2022 season — and first under the tutelage of Watkins — with a record of 14-8.

To view the entire 2022 District 1 3A Baseball Tournament bracket, click www.wescoathletics.com/m2/tourn.php?act=vt&tid=3584. 

Prep Baseball: Meadowdale vs. Stanwood, May 14 (District 1 3A Baseball Tournament winner-to-state loser-out game)

Meadowdale 0   0   0     0   0   3     1   –   4   6   6

Stanwood 0   0   0     3   3   0     x   —   6   7   0

Winning pitcher: Mason Goodson (Stanwood)

Losing pitcher: Broderick Bluhm (Meadowdale)

Meadowdale hitting: Zaid Flynn, triple, single; Nicholas Banez, two doubles; Nicholas Zardis, double; Johnathon O’Connell, single

Stanwood hitting: Treyton Mascarenas, two singles; Mason Goodson, two singles; Cameron Bailey, single; Braedon Requa, single; Jordin Lee, single

Records: Meadowdale 14-8 overall; Stanwood 15-8 overall

Meadowdale next game: 2022 season completed

— By Doug Petrowski