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SCAC champ Cashmere uses different approach to success
Bulldogs senior lefty McDevitt leads 1A's second-ranked team into district tourney
By JERREL SWENNING/Stat Hound
May 7, 2026
Second-ranked Cashmere often takes an approach many baseball teams don’t face too often – from the left-handed side.
Reigning SCAC Player of the Year Tom McDevitt, a senior left-hander, has keyed the Bulldogs’ 20-1 record on the mound with a 7-0 record, 0.61 earned-run average and 54 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.
“It’s a huge advantage, there are not too many left-handed pitchers, and comfortable throwing a couple pitches,” said Cashmere coach Colton Loomis, the Class 1A Player of the Year while leading the Bulldogs to an undefeated the 2012 state championship.
McDevitt is formidable at the plate, too, where he also does his damage from the left side. A centerfielder when not pitching, he is batting .412 with seven triples, a home run, 22 RBI and as many stolen bases, all without a strikeout.
Five Cashmere batters are hitting north of .400 – McDevitt, Rylan Hatmaker (.429), Jacoby Yousey (.420), Ethan Bessonette (.414) and Jacoby Tait (.404) – and sophomore Mac Carslon is close (.377) while also a formidable pitcher with a team-best 59 2/3 innings with 54 strikeouts and a 1.13 ERA.
Many of the baseball players also were part of the football team, which advanced to the state championship game, taking powerful Royal to overtime in the regular season, and a two-point conversion away in the final from ending the Knights’ five-year reign.
“This group this year has been answering the call, and not just on the baseball field,” Loomis said. “They have said, ‘We’re here to win and we’re here to work.’”
No. 1 seed Cashmere hosts eighth-seeded Omak in a District 5 quarterfinal at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Zillah is seeded second, and is the only team to beat the Bulldogs this season, as the teams shared the conference regular-season title.
Burly senior Nathan Kibbe, an all-state offensive lineman in the fall, leads the Leopards with a .475 batting average with 25 RBI, and Kyson Bass batted .442 leading off with 12 doubles and three triples.
Drew VanKemseke's squad is looking for its first back-to-back state berths in nine years, and opens Thursday against College Place at 4 p.m.
On the softball side, College Place supplanted Royal as the district top seed after back-to-back seasons as the No. 2 behind the Knights.
The Hawks, who won the SCAC regular-season title, are looking to return to the state tournament after missing out last year.
SCAC co-Player of the Year Anna Ortega, a junior pitcher, and College Place open the district tournament at noon Saturday when it hosts Cascade of Leavenworth, the eighth seed.
Royal senior Jill Allred, the 2025 SCAC Player of the Year, shared the top honor this year with Ortega. She and the Knights host Naches Valley at noon Saturday to begin the district tournament.
The District 5 soccer tournament, which includes several 2B and 1B schools that play football in the fall, began with eight play-in games Tuesday, and the tournament continues Thursday with quarterfinals.