Yelm baseball qualifies for postseason for the first time since 2018

One year ago, the Yelm Tornados baseball season came to a conclusion in the 3A South Sound Conference after a six-win season in head coach Dakota Hill’s first season at the helm.

Fast forward to today, and the Tornados sit with a 9-6 record in the 4A South Puget Sound League — which is regarded as one of the toughest conferences in the state of Washington — and have punched their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2018.

Second year head coach Dakota Hill applauded his roster for their efforts last offseason and for their continuous work in the regular season to qualify for the 4A district playoffs in the first year in the new classification.

“Things are going pretty good. We clinched playoffs, and that was the goal to start, to put Yelm on the map baseball wise as we entered the year, and I talked to the seniors. Being able to do that, we’re pretty happy, but these boys are still pretty hungry. This group has been pretty close together,” Hill said on Monday, April 28. “There’s a lot of pride and unity surrounding the team.
Making the playoffs, I think that’s an accomplishment that gets done not just through a couple individuals but as a team. This is a tight knit group, and they’re together with that bond. I think they’re still hungry to go after it and get after it in the playoffs. I’m excited, and incredibly proud of these guys.”

Though Yelm clinched a spot in the district playoffs, its final home contest of the season didn’t come easy as the Puyallup Vikings, one of the top teams in the state regardless of classification, rolled into town and blew out the Tornados, 15-3. Despite the loss, Hill said his team responded in a great way at the following practices.

“We had a bit of a comeuppance come to us there, but we turned around and had two of the better practices we’ve had this year,” Hill said. “That was really nice to see from the boys.”

Hill also outlined what’s yet to come for the Tornados, as an SPSL playoff and district tournament loom in the distance. The team’s head coach said Yelm will play in the SPSL fifth/sixth seed game on Tuesday, May 6, at Curtis High School. The time for the contest has not been announced.

“After that, it’s just RPI seeding into districts,” Hill said. “We’re already locked in and qualified for districts. The top eight seeds from our league will make it into districts. The top 10 will make it into our league tournament, and the seven through 10 seeds will battle it out for the last two spots. Since we’re the sixth seed, we’ll play the fifth seed in an extra-seeding value game. Our ticket has been punched though, and that’s nice.”

With the team’s last playoff appearance occurring just one season after Hill graduated from YHS in 2017, the young head coach has preached to his team what this opportunity means to Yelm baseball as a whole.

“It’s been a minute. These boys — they’re special. They worked their butts off to go from a six-win team in 3A last year, to a 10-win-plus team potentially this season in one of the best leagues in the state. It says a lot about our guys and their work ethic as a group,” Hill said. “I could literally go through and name all the guys on the roster. They’ve all contributed this season, and it’s been fantastic. It’s not just one guy — it’s a collection — which has been really nice.”