BELLINGHAM – The standards and the legacy of the Selah baseball program appear to be secure – for at least the immediate future.

The No. 11 Vikings dropped their second consecutive game, losing 5-1 to No. 13 Orting in the 2A third-fouth place game of the state tournament on Saturday after losing 3-1 to No. 2 Tumwater in Friday’s semifinals, to take home the fourth-place trophy.

But despite not playing the way they had hoped in their two games at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham, the youth on the Viks’ roster would suggest that they will be a team not many want to face in the upcoming years.

The Vikings have five freshmen and three sophomores on their roster, led by pitchers Colton Barthel, who also plays outfield, and Easton Jones, who can also play infield or outfield. Both players pitched in Saturday’s loss to the Cardinals, Barthel starting, and Jones replacing him with two outs in the top of the third inning.

Jones gave up a walk and a single in the top of the fourth inning, before retiring the final 10 batters he faced.

“He wasn’t great the last few times,” Selah head coach Mike Archer said of Jones. “We thought (Barthel’s) last couple outings had been good, so that’s why we went with him. Easton came in and kind of got back to being Easton – locating and throwing any pitch in any count.”

With youth comes inexperience and with inexperience comes moments of adversity, but Jones responded against Orting. He said he tried not to do much, pitching to contact and trying to avoid walks.

“You can’t practice that situation and that experience,” Archer said. “By being in it, it’s huge. Every year they come back they will be a little calmer and a little more poised. I thought those two guys had great poise out there for freshmen.”

Barthel and Jones have played together since before they were teenagers, and already make up a pretty good one-two punch.

But the best may still be to come.

“I think we are pretty capable of coming in and shutting down good teams,” Barthel said. “We’ve played together since 12-U. … We’ve always been a good pitching duo. We just come in and do our thing and let our performance talk.”

While the youth on the roster is reason for Vikings’ fans to be excited, the team also has to say goodbye to two of its key contributors this season and over the last four years, centerfielder Dylan Kingston and catcher Lucas Williams. Kingston and Williams are both seniors, along with outfielder TayShaun Hart.

“They bust their hump every day,” Archer said of Kingston and Williams. “If you are familiar with our program, you get out there at 2:30 (p.m.) and you have expectations. There is no slack. You don’t relax. …It’s a bust your hump kind of deal for every minute of every practice. They’ve just been great with that.”

Selah has been led by Archer since 1996, making 15 final four appearances at state and winning two championships (2016 and 2019). This year’s group is just another group of young players under Archer getting state tournament experience early in their high-school career, one of the secrets to Selah’s prolonged success.

“It sounds cliché, but our goal is never the final four,” Archer said. “We want to be the best we can be every day. (The final four) is always in the back of your head. The kids that got a taste of it this year want to get back. …Getting here and getting a taste of it is what makes you want to get back. They convince their (younger) teammates that this is the place to be. You want that feeling.”

Archer’s message to his team after Saturday’s loss was just a continuation of the success and growth that all of his teams have experienced over the years.

“We told them that there is a lot of tradition, and that has to be passed on,” Archer said. “We don’t come out in March and tell you, “God, we’re proud of you.’ You earn that (throughout the season) – and they did.”