Growls take home State title

Persistence pays off for a twenty-five-year-old Overlake program that sees its first State title. “We’ve come close before. It’s been twenty-three years for me,” says Coach Mike Davidson. “We’ve been to the State tournament ten times, and the final 4 twice.”

Finally last Saturday, the Growls baseball team notched its first State title with a team who some could say was on a re-building year after graduating many Seniors last season. “I knew we would be younger, for sure, but we had guys who were multi-year starters coming back. Guys who had been on winning teams before.”

Coach Davidson believes three elements are needed for a championship team. “We need talent plus belief plus a little bit of luck. Our pitching was just so consistent in the playoffs. We had a senior catcher who knew what he was doing. If you have two quality arms and an experienced catcher, you always have a shot.”

Saturday’s game against Meridian High School was a match-off between what some might say are two rival teams. “Meridian is a really good team. They’re in what’s called our bi-districts. In the first round of our playoffs we combine with District 1 up North for our bi-district tournaments, so we’ve played Meridian for years and years.”

In addition to Coach Davidson’s recipe for winning which includes talent, belief in winning, and luck, maybe there’s also a dash of persistence knowing one of these years the Growls would have their day.  And what better time to win it all than with another Davidson on the roster. “I am fortunate to have a son (Hank ’26) who has a lot of patience for how hard it is to coach your own kid. I tried avoiding coaching him when he was younger as I had my own high school job. So now that he was finally in my program, then it has been part of his dream too. We have pictures of him at post-season tournaments from the time he was a baby all the way growing up, so getting to share it with him, I think the baseball Gods were waiting until we could do this thing together.”

In talking with Coach Davidson, the conversation naturally started to head toward next season, but was quickly reminded to not get stuck in that trap.

“One of the things we talk about in our team culture a lot is that there is not a lot of good that can come from thinking about the past which tends to be full of regrets and not a lot of good to be found thinking about the future which can be full of anxiety. We spend a lot of time thinking about how to be present, how to live one pitch to the next. So, I’m trying to honor that culture here in the wake of this and just enjoy the moment, enjoy the last bit of time we have with this team, and this group of seniors, and this group of families.”

And because this team is comprised of two schools- Bear Creek and Overlake, there are two campuses that get to share in the celebrations. “It’s my favorite part about this experience. Not only do we get to win a title, but two different school communities get to celebrate it. The trophy will spend some time moving back and forth.” 

Here's a look back at the game-winning walkoff!