Pierce Falls to Everett in NWAC Championship Opener

The No. 2 seed from the West, Pierce College opened the 2026 NWAC Baseball Championship on Thursday, May 21 against North Region champion Everett College in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament. Despite a late push from the Raiders, Pierce fell 11-5 to Everett in the tournament opener.

Everett struck first in the opening inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The Trojans added three more runs in the third inning on a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-0.

Pierce got on the board in the fifth inning when Andrew Dyk delivered an RBI single to score Yacel Limonta and cut the deficit to 4-1. Everett responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer, followed by another RBI single to push the lead to 7-1.

The Raiders mounted a comeback effort in the eighth inning. Bradley Carl and Christian Dominno both came around to score on a two-run double by Kai Halstead, trimming the deficit to 7-3. Riley Sanoy followed with an RBI groundout to bring home Tristan Ringrose and make it a three-run game at 7-4.

Everett answered with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, capitalizing on timely hits and a Pierce error to take an 11-4 advantage heading into the ninth.

Pierce added one final run in the top of the ninth when Bradley Carl singled home Jeb English, but the rally would fall short as Everett secured the 11-5 victory.

Halstead led the Raider offense with a 2-for-4 performance and two RBIs, while Carl added a hit, RBI, and run scored. Ringrose doubled and scored, while Dyk drove in a run with his fifth-inning single. Pierce drew six walks in the contest but struck out 13 times.

On the mound, Michael LeJeune took the loss after throwing 4.2 innings with three strikeouts. Drechen Vinoray-Perreira provided solid relief, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits.

Defensively, the Raiders turned a pair of double plays behind the middle infield combination of Nariyuki Dumlao and Tristan Ringrose to Jackson Copeland.

With the loss, Pierce moved into the elimination bracket of the NWAC Championship tournament and will face off against the loser of Linn-Benton and Wenatchee Valley.