Two rivals will play for the 6A baseball title. Each took a different road there
Only a few things are certain in life: Death, taxes and Owyhee playing for a baseball state championship.
The five-year-old program rolled into the 6A state finals for the fifth straight year on Friday, 10-running Mountain View for a spot in Saturday’s championship round.
A familiar foe awaits in Eagle. Owyhee topped the Mustangs for the district title last week, and the Storm own a 3-0 record over their neighbor this season.
But the game everyone will remember starts at 2 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Garden City. No. 1-seeded Owyhee (25-5) needs to win just once, while No. 3 Eagle (22-8) must beat the Storm twice to take the double-elimination tournament.
OWYHEE BACK IN THE STATE FINALS
For the second straight day, Owyhee fell into an early 3-0 hole. And for the second straight day, the Storm responded and ran away with a dominant victory.
Mountain View pushed three runs across the plate in the top of the second inning. But Owyhee batted around and erupted for seven runs in its half of the frame en route to a 13-3 win in six innings.
“Sometimes you got to get punched in the face,” Owyhee coach Matt Rasmussen said. “But we’ve responded pretty well. We’ve been punched in the face two nights in a row, but we’ve countered back and we kind of feed off it.”
Jack Booth delivered Owyhee’s first haymaker, lacing a three-run triple into the right-field corner to clear the bases and tie the game. Christian Zannitto followed by scooting an RBI single past a drawn-in infield for the lead. And Zander Jakovac capped the seven-run outburst with a two-run single up the middle.
Owyhee also took advantage of 12 walks and a pair of hit batters, sprinkling in a few key hits to pile on the Mavericks.
“Our one through nine is very scary,” said Booth, who finished 2-for-2 with five RBIs. “There’s no easy out there. We all know how to do and manage our jobs well. Collectively, as a group, when we’re managing our jobs, it’s going to be a very successful day.”
The early outburst provided a comfortable cushion for Owyhee pitcher Kelly Leak, who settled in after a rough second inning. He finished all six innings for the complete game, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out two.
The blowout victory adds to Owyhee’s gaudy late-season run, making it 22 victories in 23 games. The Storm lost 13 seniors from last year’s state runner-up team, leading Owyhee to finish third in the 6A SIC preseason coaches’ poll. But a host of new faces has Owyhee ending the season in the only place the program has ever known.
“We’ve been here five years in a row now,” Booth said. “It’s not a fluke anymore. I think teams are starting to realize that.”
EAGLE RALLIES BACK INTO FINAL
The Mustangs rode a pair of dominant pitching performances to stave off elimination and return to the championship for the first time in five years.
Dallin Snooks started the day by firing a three-hit shutout and striking out six in a 10-0 six-inning win over Middleton. Jacob Ames then led Eagle to a 5-1 victory over Mountain View in Friday’s second semifinal, holding the league’s top lineup to one run on five hits while striking out seven.
Ames received the best gift a pitcher could ask for when Eagle started the nightcap by hanging five runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. The Mustangs took advantage of a pair of errors, and Brayden Lame struck the critical blow with a two-run single through the right side of the infield.
“That took off a lot of nerves,” Ames said. “Because I knew I can just throw as good as I can. I have run support. It gave me confidence throughout the whole game.”
That confidence resulted in the left-hander locating all three pitches — fastball, curveball and changeup — to keep Mountain View hitters guessing. The Mavericks threatened to respond in their half of the first inning as Cooper Schneidt led off with a first-pitch triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly. But Ames shut it down, scattering five hits and stranding six runners on base.
“He just changes speeds and hits his spots,” Eagle coach Scott Deck said. “His breaking ball makes his fastball that much more effective. And with that changeup, he’s able to throw three pitches for strikes in any count.
“He has been effective all year long. This is a great hitting team. Look at their stats. But he’s just keeping guys off balance and forcing them to hit his pitch and let our defense play.”
Friday’s two victories gives Eagle a shot at its first state title since 2011. But to come home with the hardware, the Mustangs need to finally solve Owyhee.
The Storm 10-runned Eagle twice this season and beat the Mustangs 4-2 for last week’s district championship.
“We’ve got nothing to lose, right?” Deck said. “We’re in a situation where that is the team that’s been doing it all year long. They’re well coached. They’re a great team. But this is where you want to be.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 10:46 PM.
