The Kentlake and Sumner high school baseball teams made history at Everett Memorial Stadium on May 30 with Kentlake’s 7-6 walk-off win in 3A and Sumner’s 7-0 shutout in 4A, securing each program’s first-ever state title.
In March, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) announced Everett Memorial Stadium as the site for the 2026 3A and 4A State Baseball Championships. Snohomish County hadn’t hosted the semifinals and championship games since 2023, so when the tournament returned after three years, it definitely created a memorable experience.
It was an amazing storyline in the 3A bracket for Eastside Catholic and Kentlake. Eastside Catholic entered the tournament as the 17th seed and Kentlake as the sixth seed, and both teams battled through adversity to appear in the title game. Eastside Catholic’s previous state appearance resulted in a quarterfinals defeat in 2025, and Kentlake’s last trip ended with a loss in the second round to would-be runner-up Mount Vernon in 2024, a team that also claimed the 3A title in 2025.
Eastside Catholic eliminated sixth-seeded Kelso 6-3 in the opening round, first-seeded Mount Vernon 2-0 in the second round and ninth-seeded Roosevelt 2-0 in the quarterfinals before sending fourth-seeded Decatur to the consolations with a 7-1 semifinals win. Kentlake eliminated 11th-seeded Southridge 3-1 in the second round and third-seeded Gig Harbor 7-4 in the quarterfinals before tallying a tight win over seventh-seeded O’Dea 2-1 in the semifinals to avoid consolations.
So, after great performances by both teams, the matchup was set between 17th-seeded Eastside Catholic and sixth-seeded Kentlake, two programs that were seeking their first state title.
Trailing 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kentlake notched four runs. An RBI double from senior Christopher Moore scored one run, an RBI triple from Matthew Ledbetter posted two additional runs and senior Tucker Bartlett’s sacrifice fly to centerfield tied the game and forced extra innings. After Eastside Catholic intentionally walked Moore in the bottom of the eighth inning, it was Ledbetter’s turn at the plate, and you couldn’t have choreographed a better scene for how the senior concluded his final high school at-bat. Not only did Ledbetter single to left field, but his line drive also brought in sophomore Lincoln Moore to give Kentlake a 7-6 walk-off victory and the school’s first state title. O’Dea defeated Decatur 10-5 in the third-fourth place game.
In the 4A bracket, second-seeded Sumner eliminated 15th-seeded Moses Lake 7-0 in the opening round and 10th-seeded Kennedy Catholic 9-2 in the quarterfinals before sending sixth-seeded Kamiakin to the consolations with a 6-1 semifinals win. Sumner then blanked fifth-seeded Gonzaga Prep 7-0 to mark its first state title. First-seeded Richland topped Kamiakin 4-3 in the third-fourth place game.
The Snohomish County Sports Commission would like to thank the following entities for their work in making the event a success:
- WIAA and Everett Public Schools for partnering to host this year’s 3A and 4A State Baseball Championships
- Discover Snohomish County and City of Everett for providing grant funding
- Major League Pizza, Chick-fil-A Everett, Tapped at the Port and Dick’s Drive-In for donating meals
