With a 2-0 victory over Meridian High last Saturday, the Overlake-Bear Creek baseball Growls advanced to the 1A state tournament for the first time since 2006.

The locals from District 1/2/3 will play Brewster from District 6/7 at 10 a.m. this Saturday in the regional round at Larson Playfield in Moses Lake. With a win, the Growls advance to play the Freeman/Naches Valley winner in a quarterfinal game at 4 p.m. at Larson. The final four will be held the following weekend at Yakima County Stadium.

In a loser-out game against Meridian in Bellingham, the Growls (17-4 overall) benefited from the pitching of Ben Kelleran, who twirled a six-hit shutout and raised his record to 7-0 this season with an 0.57 ERA.

Tyler Wilcox drove in Matt Kelleran and Evan Sather with a single in the fifth inning to lead the Growls.

In a 1-0 loss to Coupeville in an early game last Saturday, the victors scored on a bloop single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth for a walk-off win. The Growls’ Matt Kaiser and Coupeville’s Ben Etzell dueled it out from the pitcher’s mound.

In the first round of tri-districts on May 15, the Growls defeated Nooksack Valley, 8-4, at Marymoor Park.

Peter Perkins’ three-run home run gave the Growls a 4-0 lead in the third inning.

Perkins leads the team with a .492 batting average with six home runs, 12 doubles and 34 RBIs.