31-05-2025
Light fight: Controversy postpones Puyallup vs. Lake Washington state baseball game
Trailing 8-0 to Lake Washington after four innings, it looked like the lights were about to go out on Puyallup's undefeated baseball season. Instead, the lights at Parker Faller Field in Yakima started going out as the sun was setting in the final game of the day, a Class 4A state tournament semifinal game.
Puyallup coach Marc Wiese voiced his frustration with the lighting conditions as the game wore on, then the umpires paused the game and began having conversations with both team's coaches, event staff and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) staffers on hand for the event.
Most of the lights, particularly in the outfield, were operational and working fine, but several of the lights in the two fixtures on both baselines closest to home plate were out. Each light fixture at the stadium had between six and eight individual lights. On one of the baseline fixtures, only two were functioning. Several were out on the other, as well.
After almost an hour-long delay, the umpire crew and WIAA officials decided to postpone and resume the game at 10 a.m. Saturday.
'When the lights didn't fully come on, the umpires decided to suspend the game because they couldn't see the balls coming in,' Justin Kesterson told The News Tribune. Kesterson is the WIAA's assistant executive director. 'The home plate umpire made that decision with his crew, that it was just too hard to see the ball, to be fair with both teams and for safety.'
Puyallup coach Marc Wiese had pointed words for the WIAA.
'You can't play baseball in this,' he said. 'We've got four lights (total) basically on both bases. And here's the thing: Yakima Valley (Community College), their coach even told them, you cannot play night games here, etc. The WIAA knew about this. They've got some explaining to do.'
Kesterson said he was not personally aware of any issues with the stadium lighting during night games prior to the event.
'I'm not aware, myself, of any situations where there were issues with the lights,' he said.
It looked likely Lake Washington was closing in on a win, stunning the undefeated, nationally-ranked Puyallup Vikings from the first pitch. The game was billed as a potential pitcher's duel — Puyallup's Mason Pike and Lake Washington's Shane Johnson — but Lake Washington jumped on Pike early. Johnson, meanwhile, was rolling.
Lake Washington coach Derek Bingham said it was a difficult situation.
'It's really tough,' he told the TNT. 'You prepare all season for the final four, play your best game of the year for four innings and now you've gotta come back and do it tomorrow.'
Whether or not the rules would allow for Bingham to use Johnson, an Oregon commit, again on Saturday, he wasn't sure. But he said he won't throw him again.
'He's got too bright of a future for me to put him back out there after a full warm-up, pitching four innings,' Bingham said. 'I would never do that, regardless of what's on the line.'
Bingham said he also didn't feel there was any gamesmanship from Wiese, with Puyallup trailing 8-0.
'I have too much respect for Marc for that,' he said. 'It was dark. I agree it's dark. I don't know if it's unplayable, but when it got darker, it looks like maybe.'
Wiese said he felt the site, which is a bit dated, simply isn't adequate to host the 3A and 4A baseball championships. What's available to the WIAA in any given year depends on the schedules of minor league baseball teams around the state, a WIAA spokesperson told the TNT. Last year's 3A and 4A state tournament semifinals and championship games were played at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.
'This is not suitable,' Wiese said. '100 percent. The biggest thing is, for (the WIAA) to know about this lighting, it's just a disappointment, to be quite honest with you. At the end of the day, we've got three innings left and we still have a shot to win. Tomorrow, we're gonna roll over, it's gonna be a new day. Maybe we'll have some good fortune.'
The game will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The 3A and 4A third/fourth place consolation games have been canceled. The 3A state championship game will be played at 1 p.m. and the 4A state championship game will be played at 4 p.m.
The WIAA said it considered trying to move the consolation games to other local sites, but it didn't look like it'd work.
'We had that conversation, just talking through the facilities and what might be available, especially on short notice,' Kesterson said. 'We didn't feel that would be able to be done, to be able to set up all the other components of that. There was no other stadium available to help mitigate the issue of trying to push and keep the games at their scheduled times.'
