Bears advance to state baseball Final Four

BREWSTER – The Bears varsity baseball team swept aside its final obstacle standing in the way of a return trip to the State Final Four championships at home last Saturday, May 20. Brewster defeated Northwest Christian (Colbert), 8-2, and will be in Ephrata next weekend to see if they can do again.

The Bears hosted the Regional playoff that began with a playoff game between eight-place seed Northwest Christian and ninth seed Ilwaco to see which team would survive to meet Brewster. The Crusaders handed the Pacific Coast Fishermen a 2-0 loss to move on.

Under 90-plus degree heat the Bears and Crusaders traded runs and were tied, 1-1. Brewster added two for a 3-1 lead and NWC scored another to close within 3-2. In the sixth inning Brewster put the game away with five more runs for an 8-2 final.

The Bears will face Tri-Cities Prep at 7 p.m., Friday, May 26, in Johnson-O’Brien Stadium at Ephrata. The other finalists are Adna and Toutle Lake raising the possibility that Brewster might face the Ducks in a rematch for the title.

Last year Brewster came from six runs down in a remarkable final inning recovery to defeat Toutle Lake, 7-6, for the championship.