Kentlake baseball wins state championship in walk-off fashion

Published 12:55 pm Sunday, May 31, 2026

For the first time in school history, the Kentlake High School baseball team is the state champion. It took everything and then some to get to the mountain top, but the Falcons never quit.

The Kentlake Falcons (22-5) overcame a four run deficit in the bottom of the seventh and became the new state champion following a miraculous walk-off win in the 3A state title game. Senior Matthew Ledbetter drove in the game winning run in extra innings to down No. 17 Eastside Catholic (18-12), 7-6, at Funko Field on May 30.

Ledbetter singled to left field and sophomore Lincoln Moore dove head first into home plate in the eighth inning to win the game. It was the finishing touch of what will go down as one of the most impressive comebacks of all time in Washington state high school baseball.

“Our team has done this all year, you never count us out. Matt has clutched up in every situation in the state playoffs,” Christopher Moore said. “There is nobody that I am more proud of than him.”

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Kentlake trailed Eastside Catholic, 4-2. The Falcons were down to their final three outs and hadn’t scored since the first inning. Head coach Mike Suguro held a team meeting on the top rail of the dugout.

“Words cannot describe the amount of fight and fortitude with this group. We all got together as a group in the seventh and I told the guys ‘Do you believe we can win this game? Do you really believe we can win this game,’” Suguro said. “There were expletives in there and I told them, I do. It’s not how I drew it up, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. What a special group of kids.”

Those magic words flipped the switch. Lincoln Moore and Jacob Lawrence started off the seventh with a pair of singles, bringing up University of Washington commit Christopher Moore. He had already doubled earlier in the game and in the biggest at-bat of his career, he met the moment. Moore doubled to left, advancing Lawrence to third, and brought up Ledbetter, who represented the tying run. “Mike brought us all together and said ‘They are going to remember this, make this something to remember.’ We were all hyped. After Lincoln and Jacob got on, there was no stopping us,” Moore said.

As a precursor to what he would do an inning later, Ledbetter hit what at the time was the biggest base-hit of his life. He lined a triple to the right field corner, scoring Lawrence and Moore to cut the lead to 6-5, and what once seemed like an impossible mountain to climb now saw Kentlake near the peak.

Up stepped Tucker Bartlett, who came into the game in the sixth inning to pitch and by way of substitution, got into the lineup. The pitcher only hit a deep fly ball to center field to score Ledbetter and tie the game. The Falcons had officially gotten up off the canvas after the referee had counted to eight. “I love Tuck, he has been my best friend since I was five. Doing this is a lifetime achievement,” Moore said.

Bartlett was sidelined earlier in the season with an injury, but now has a state championship trophy with his fingers all over it. He has been lifelong friends with Christopher Moore and found his was through three innings against Eastside Catholic, picked up a base hit and got the game tying RBI. Not bad for a pitcher. “We are the tightest-knit group out here, that is the reason we went out there and won that,” Bartlett said.

In the fateful eighth inning, Moore was intentionally walked. Despite his triple in the inning prior, Eastside Catholic wanted Ledbetter, but that was nothing Kentlake hadn’t prepared for. In the practices leading up to the playoffs, Suguro would simulate Moore getting walked and Ledbetter having to step up in high pressure situations. That attention to detail and preparation paid off for Kentlake. “We put it into his head that he is going to have to come up in a big moment. He’s ‘Matty Ice’ for a reason,” Suguro said.

In the semifinals and championship games, Ledbetter had the following statline: 6-for-8, 3B, 2B, 5 RBI, R.

Just to get to the championship against Eastside Catholic, it was an all hands on deck affair.

Kentlake took on O’Dea in the semifinal round, a scrappy Fighting Irish side, but Kentlake had Christopher Moore toe the slab. Moore did it all, just like he had all season.

He threw 106 pitches, allowed just one hit, pitched 6.2 innings and struck out eight O’Dea batters. At the plate he went 0-for-1, but reached base twice via walks. “He’s probably going to be one of the most decorated Falcons ever. Words can’t describe what he had meant to this program and to me. He’s a phenomenal human being. It’s tough to even say this but he is a better human than baseball player. You can’t ask for a better kid,” Suguro said.

Kentlake had history on their side in the semifinals, as in their only two other appearances, they were 2-0 with wins back in 2008 and 2017. Kentlake squeaked out a 2-1 win over O’Dea (16-10) thanks to Ledbetter getting the job done at the plate.

It came in the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded. Ledbetter found space down the right field line, which gave Kentlake the lead following O’Dea’s only run of the game in the top half of the fourth.

“I wanted to get down early, see it deep and hit it the other way. Seeing bases loaded, I was just trying to do my job,” Ledbetter said. “I was just glad I did my job. Seeing my teammates definitely made me feel good.”

Moore would then retire the next eight out of 10 Irish hitters with just a pair of walks reaching base. He was removed in the seventh inning due to reaching the pitch count limit. But Tucker Bartlett slammed the door, striking out the only batter he faced in the top of the seventh to seal the win.

Kentlake is now 1-2 in baseball state championships. They lost to Puyallup most recently in 2017 and Snohomish back in 2008 before beating Eastside Catholic this season.

As a school, state championships are starting to roll in consistently. Kentlake dance won the 3A Dance category this season and cheer took first place in 2024 and now baseball will be added to the tally.

But now this Kentlake team has written its own history, a comeback for the ages. A team for the ages. A memory that will be etched into the minds of the players, coaches and fans forever.