Dylan Pelas (right) gives fellow junior Cannon Johnson a pat on the head after Johnson smoked a sixth-inning, three-run homer against Forks on May 2.

LONG BEACH — What a way to make a livin’ — hitting grand slams and playing stellar outfield defense, that is.

The Ilwaco Fishermen baseball team used both in a pair of 9-5 wins last week to secure its first-ever Pacific League title and an opening-round victory in the district playoffs, leaving it just one more win away from clinching an appearance in the 2B state tournament later this month.

League titleOn Tuesday, May 2, the Fishermen used a grand slam to overcome an early deficit and defeat the Forks Spartans 9-5 in the first game of a doubleheader to close out the regular season. The win clinched the Pacific League regular-season championship over the Spartans, who were in second place in the league behind Ilwaco heading into the day. Ilwaco trounced Forks in the second game, winning 27-1.

Forks jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the opening frame of the consequential first game, putting both of their runs on the board with two outs in the inning. But Ilwaco responded in the second inning, when junior Jacob Rogers — who was also on the bump for the Fishermen — drove a ball over the left field fence for a grand slam.

Rogers’ slam seemed to loosen the tension for the Fishermen, growing their lead to 5-2 after four innings. But the Spartans tied the score at five in the top of the fifth, thanks to a three-run blast of their own.

Ilwaco immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning, thanks in part to some small-ball. After a one-out hit-by-pitch and a single that advanced the runner to third, the Fishermen executed a picture-perfect suicide squeeze bunt that brought home another run to give them a 6-5 lead.

A few insurance runs were tacked on in the sixth inning, when junior Cannon Johnson torched a three-run shot over the left field wall. Junior Kaemon Sawa closed out the league-clinching game in relief for Ilwaco. The Fishermen played sound outfield defense all game long, tracking down several deep fly balls that would have otherwise extended innings for the Spartans.

District openerRogers was back on the mound four days later on May 6 for Ilwaco in its opening-round district game against the Napavine Tigers. The Fishermen earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the opening slate of district games due to their winning the Pacific League.

Three scoreless frames came and went to start the game before Ilwaco broke things open in the fourth inning. Junior catcher Boston Caron muscled a two-run homer out to left-center field, and another run later scored on a two-out bloop single from senior Kaeden Lyster that fell harmlessly in shallow right field.

The Fishermen tacked on two more runs in the fifth, and Ilwaco held a 5-0 lead heading into the seventh inning. The final frame started ominously, when Rogers — who had been pitching a gem — hit the leadoff batter and was pulled due to an apparent injury to his hand.

Sawa again came in to try and close out the game, but the Napavine bats that had been silent most of the game finally sprung to life. After a single put runners on the corner, Ilwaco happily traded a groundout for a Tiger run. But three more singles cut the Fishermen lead to 5-3, and Ilwaco turned to Johnson to try and get the final two outs with a pair of runners in scoring position.

A weak infield pop-up had Napavine down to its last out, and Ilwaco was poised to close the game out on a sharply hit grounder to the second baseman. But an atrocious hop sent the ball over the Fishermen fielder’s head, and both runners — who were running on contact with two outs — easily scored to tie the game at five. The next batter was set down on a cleanly fielded grounder by the second baseman, limiting any further damage.

If Ilwaco was dismayed by the sudden turn of events, they didn’t show it at the plate in the bottom half of the seventh inning. A sharp single to left field, a perfectly placed bunt single — likely intended to be a sacrifice bunt — and a walk on a full-count loaded the bases for Caron.

Caron worked a full-count himself, before unloading on a pitch that he sent over the fence for a walk-off grand slam to send Ilwaco to the next round of districts and one game closer to clinching a berth to state. It was his second homer of the day, giving him six RBIs in what ended up being a career game.

Up next: Ilwaco faced the Toledo Riverhawks in a neutral-site game in Adna on Tuesday afternoon, with first pitch coming just after the Observer’s print deadline. The Fishermen lost the only matchup between the two in the regular season, 7-6 in a late-April affair.

If Ilwaco gets past Toledo this time around, they’ll clinch a state berth and advance to the district championship game against either Adna or Toutle Lake on May 13 at 2 p.m. in Chehalis. A loss to the Riverhawks would send them to the consolation bracket, where they would need to win one more game to ensure their spot in the state tournament.