The Sunnyside Varsity Grizzlies closed out their baseball season with a hard-fought run through the postseason. The team secured a key win in the Big 9 play-in tournament to earn a spot in the district 5 tournament, but their postseason hopes ended with a narrow 1-0 loss to Eastmont.

Despite entering the postseason as underdogs, the Grizzlies delivered a memorable performance against Wenatchee, a team that had swept them in the regular season. Sunnyside upset the Panthers with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday, May 13.

In regular season Big 9 standings, Wenatchee finished third with a 12-6 league record. Sunnyside concluded the season sixth in the standings at 3-15. Earlier in the year, Wenatchee had swept Sunnyside in a three-game series, winning 6-0, 10-8, and 17-1.

But in a stunning upset in the play-in tournament, the Grizzlies turned the tables.

After Wenatchee opened the scoring in the second inning, Sunnyside tied the game in the fourth with a single by Andrew Serl. Trey Castro followed with a single in the fifth to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 lead.

Wenatchee tied the game again in the sixth, but Sunnyside responded in the top of the seventh. Ryker Heeringa delivered RBI single, and Xathian Castro followed with another run-scoring hit to make it 4-2.

C.J. Acosta pitched a complete game for the win, allowing five hits and two runs over seven innings, striking out one and walking five. Sunnyside tallied nine hits, with Castro leading the offense with a 3-for-4 performance from the leadoff spot. The defense also came through with a double play and no errors.

Unfortunately, the Eastmont Wildcats proved to be a tough opponent in their district opener. Despite out-hitting the Wildcats 7-4, the Grizzlies couldn’t make it home. The only run of the game came in the fifth inning when Eastmont managed an RBI single. Sunnyside played solid defense, committing no errors and turning another double play.

David Gonzalez led the team with two hits, while Jorge Moreno took the loss, allowing four hits and one run over 4.1 innings with one strikeout and one walk.

Sunnyside wrapped up the season with a 3-15 league record and 4-19 overall.