SPOKANE, Wash. — Mt. Spokane Baseball has been the Cinderella of the 3A State Baseball Playoffs. As a No. 10 seed, the Wildcats have unexpectedly made it to the final four.
This weekend, they have a shot at winning a state championship.
"So exciting! Yeah, more than we could dream of, I mean, nobody thought we could get this far and here we are as a 10 seed," said senior Jon Busch.
Mt. Spokane has battled itself into the final four. The Wildcats had to scratch and claw their way out of the 3A District 8 bracket, winning a pair of win or go home games. In the state playoffs, they've pulled off upsets over No. 7 seed Lynnwood and a one run win over a favorite to win it all in No. 2 seed Lake Washington.
They've done it with the cards stacked against them.
"I don't think they were too worried about it, like, 'Let's just play whoever shows up in our opponents dugout and let's just find a way to win'," said head coach Alex Schuerman.
Playing care free, because they know nobody expects them to win.
"I think rankings don't matter to our team," said senior Carson Coffield. "We'll see anyone on the field any day. We've got that confidence and I think we like that as a team."
"You're not a one seed where they're expecting you to win every single game by 15 runs. We're a 10 seed, so all the pressure's on the other team most of the time and that's what we're going into every game thinking," said Busch.
With a roster full of 10 seniors experiencing the playoffs for the first and last time, winning a state championship would mean the world.
"It's everything! I mean, you spend your entire life playing the game and it comes down to this and not many people get an opportunity, especially senior year," said Busch. "It's just really exciting."
Regardless of the outcome this weekend, this season will be one to be proud of for the Wildcats.
"It's been a long road to get there and sometimes there's ups and downs throughout that process, but they're here," said Schuerman. "So, just big smiles of pride, really, just happy for these guys."
Mt. Spokane's Final Four game will be on Friday with a 4 p.m. first pitch against Kennewick, a team they lost to in the District 8 playoffs.