Yelm High School’s baseball program ended the 2024 season on a high note as the team defeated River Ridge, 10-0, on May 1, following the celebration of three soon-to-be Tornado graduates.
Prior to the contest, the Tornados welcomed three seniors — infielder and pitcher Ace Youckton, pitcher and outfielder Jack Verone, and pitcher Austin Richardson to the field with their families and friends to be honored for their tenures in the YHS program.
“Sending the seniors off with a 10-0 win was awesome,” YHS head coach Dakota Hill said. “I was happy for them. They are a good group and will leave the program in a better place.”
Sophomore pitcher Quillen Hadley received the start for the Tornados combined with Richardson for seven shutout innings of baseball.
“Quillen Hadley was lights out against River Ridge. He just threw strikes, and we played really good defense,” Hill said. “Austin Richardson threw a clean inning after Quillen. It was really good (pitching) all the way around.”
The Tornados finished the 2024 season with a 6-14 record, including 4-10 in the South Sound Conference. Yelm improved on its conference win record from last year after winning just two games in the SSC during the 2023 season.
Going into the 2025 season and joining a new league, the 4A South Puget Sound League (SPSL), Hill expects his team to continue improving throughout the offseason.
“The goal is to keep improving and get into the playoffs,” Hill said. “In a new tough league, we are going to have to get after it in summer ball, fall ball and hit the weight room. That will help us get over the hump in those close games.”
After picking up a victory in their final game as an SSC-member, the Tornados will part the conference as Yelm athletics reclassifies to the 4A classification. In the SPSL, Yelm joins Puyallup, Emerald Ridge, Olympia, Sumner, Rogers, South Kitsap, Curtis, Graham Kapowsin, Bonney Lake and Spanaway Lake.
Yelm, Bonney Lake and Spanaway Lake will each be new members of the 4A SPSL conference during the 2024-25 school year, beginning this September.
The Tornados showed signs of growth from the year prior throughout the 2024 season and ultimately lost four games that were decided by one run. They dropped two matchups that were decided by two runs.
