The 2010 season ended sadly and with a "thud" as Highline bowed out of the state tournament on Saturday afternoon.  Nine Pirate seniors made their last appearance in the purple and gold but have nothing to hang their heads about.  This years team finished 18-5 and was ranked in the top ten the entire season.  They never had even a two game losing streak.  They won the District Title (arguably the toughest) and defeated three league champions along the way. 

Saturday's game was the first solid loss of the year for Highline.  Columbia River scored two runs in the top of the first, all with two outs. The Chieftains added one in each of the next two innings to open up a 4-0 lead.  Highline showed a pulse in the bottom of the third when Ryan Lingle singled and Jonny Locher homered to left to make it 4-2.  CR answered back with two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth producing a 9-2 deficit.  Highline tallied two in the bottom of the sixth but could not narrow the gap as Columbia River advanced with  12-4 win.  It is interesting to note that three of the teams that made it to the "Final Four" played in our District Tournament, two of which were beaten by the Pirates en route to the championship.

The Pirates were led offensively by Jacob Wydick who went 3-for-4.  Lingle was 1-for-1 with three bases on balls.  The Pirates used four pitchers in the game but could not find the combination to shut down the Chieftains who scored in six of the seven innings played. 

Ryan Brett, Ryan Lingle, Lee Carson, Derick Lewis, Jeremy Rowden, Casey Daw, Joe Young, Luke Werle and James Hovland leave the Pirate ship with a legacy that will be remembered for a long, long time.  Although we did not reach all of our goals, it was definitely memorable.  Most of these guys played together since Little League and although I only had them for four years, I will miss every one of them.  It has been (not without frustrations) a pleasure and an honor to be their coach.  I hope they will look upon their years at Highline fondly and make a point of coming back often.

The year end awards banquet will be scheduled for early June.  Details will be emailed to all of our players as soon as those plans are finalized.