For the decades and decades of Little League baseball in the state of Washington, no team from Grays Harbor County had claimed a state title in the modern era.
That all changed on Thursday afternoon.
The Elma Little League Juniors Division team — a squad made up of 12- 14-year-old All-Stars from a town of approximately 3,300 people — snapped that state title drought in emphatic fashion, hammering North Central (Seattle) Little League 12-5 to claim the state championship at Funko Field in Everett.
“I’m happy for the kids. They put in a lot of work over many years playing baseball together and this is what they ended up getting toward the end of their little league careers,” Elma head coach William McGaffey said. “Just pure happiness for them.”
After a scoreless first inning, Elma jumped out to a 9-0 in the top of the second, getting the offense rolling on a solo home run off the bat of pitcher Cam Green.
Elma wasn’t done, scoring eight more runs in the frame off a two-run triple by TJ Dunlap, RBI singles from Tanner Moe and Brody Palmer, a two-run double from Green, a fielder’s choice RBI by Rusty Johnson and a run-scoring single from Braiden Stewart.
PHOTO BY AMY SPOON Tanner Moe smacks one of Elma’s 16 base hits in a 12-5 victory in the Washington State Little League Championship Game on Thursday in Everett.
By the time the dust settled, Elma’s offense had scored nine runs after just six outs, leaving little doubt as to the outcome.
“We just told them to play smart and have fun, to take in the moment. I think the whole team was relaxed. They were dancing and swaying to the music being played during warm-ups and they were ready to go play ball,” McGaffey said of his team’s ability to not let the moment overwhelm them.
“I can honestly say I was very confident in our players the moment we stepped on the field. … Just the way they’ve been playing and gelling as a team and the hard work they put in … I just knew we were going to do it.”
After North Central responded with a pair of runs off Green in the bottom half of the second, the Elma offense was at it again in the third, scoring a pair of runs on a Palmer double to right field with one out.
Green allowed two runs in the bottom half of the inning on consecutive two-out, bases-loaded walks, but Jack Alexander singled to drive in an insurance run in the top of the fourth for a 12-4 lead.
That was more than enough run support for Green and Dunlap, who combined to allow just one run over the final four innings.
“I can’t say anything bad about the way Cameron pitched today. He was lights out, throwing strikes and was dialed in,” McGaffey said of his starter, who allowed two earned runs on two hits with eight strikeouts and five walks in 4 2-3 innings pitched. “Same with TJ, they were both dialed in because they wanted to win this game that bad.”
PHOTO BY AMY SPOON Elma pitcher Cam Green picked up the win in Thursday’s state championship game, allowing two earned runs with eight strikeouts in 4 2-3 innings pitched in a 12-5 victory over North Central (Seattle) Little League on Thursday in Everett.
Dunlap allowed a run on three hits with a strikeout and a walk in pitching the final 2 1-3 innings.
Offensively, Elma was impressive in winning its fifth straight game of the tournament. Six of Elma’s 16 hits were for extra bases and eight different Elma players collected a hit in the game, with six players having multi-hit games.
Dunlap (3-5, 3B, 2R, 2RBI), Moe (2-4, 2B, R, RBI) and Alexander (2-4, 2R, RBI) combined to go 7-for-13 at the top of the order, while Palmer (2-4, 2B, R, 3RBI), Green (3-5, HR, 2B, 2R, 3RBI) and Stewart (2-2, R, RBI) did the bulk of the damage down the lineup card.
When Dunlap caught a pop out by North Central’s Avery Ducsik to end the game, it secured the first state title for Elma Little League and the first Juniors championship for a team representing District 3.
McGaffey said the accolades are well-deserved.
“The kids were smiling and loving it (upon winning the championship). … I think they weren’t just happy for themselves, but for each other because they know how many games we’ve played together over the course of many years,” he said, reflecting on the historic accomplishment.
“It’s awesome to know that’s how we will be remembered. I hope these kids take it forward with them throughout their lives and enjoy this moment and cherish it because nobody in Elma is going to forget it.”
