Washington

Class 3A baseball: Tristen Babbitt pitches Washington to third straight title

Published

2 years ago

May 11, 2024

Class 3A baseball: Tristen Babbitt pitches Washington to third straight title

SHAWNEE — Washington’s Tristen Babbitt bent to the ground, simultaneously overcome with emotion and bracing for the dogpile that was about to flatten him in front of the pitcher’s mound of Ed Skelton Field.

The celebration of a Class 3A state championship three-peat engulfed the Warriors’ pitcher after the final out of a 4-0 win over Perry on Saturday, and no player deserved to be the centerpiece of the festivities more than Babbitt.

The senior left-hander pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in his final high school game, and the emotion of it all was strong.

“My dad passed away when I was 14,” Babbitt said, tears welling in his eyes. “I wrote his death day on my arm today. I was thanking God for him.

“This is such a great team. We grew up with each other. There’s no better coaching staff or team that I could ask for.”

More: Oklahoma high school baseball: Class 6A-2A state tournament schedule, scores

Effectively mixing his pitches between a fastball, slider and changeup, Babbitt didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning and never allowed a Perry baserunner past second. He got good support from an aggressive offense, even if it wasn’t producing a lot of solid contact.

Washington took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Dax McCaskill’s sacrifice fly scored Mayson Thomas. In the sixth, the Warriors took advantage of Perry’s defensive miscues to score two more runs while getting just one hit — a single by Liam Keltner that snuck just past the infield dirt.

And McCaskill scored the final run, reaching with a single and moving to third on a hit-and-run groundout before being driven in by Easton Berglan.

“I didn’t think we swung it great up and down the lineup, but we put it in play at the right times,” coach Jeff Kulbeth said. “We’re so aggressive on the basepaths, and you know how it is when you play in these games, anytime there’s a bobbled ball or an error or something, it just magnifies.

“We were just fortunate to take advantage.”

Washington became just the fifth team in Class 3A and above to win three consecutive baseball championships, and the most recent of the group since Saturday’s host, Shawnee, took three straight 5A titles in 2015-17.

“With what our kids have done, the ability to just stay with the process, stay the course, buy in to what we’ve done as a program — when our leaders do that, the rest follow,” Kulbeth said. “Is it easy? No, it’s not easy. But it sure is incredible.”

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Washington

Tulip Day Washington draws buzz as sign-up site goes down

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

WASHINGTON – Coming up this month, spring’s most colorful new event: Tulip Day Washington.

What we know:

On March 15, 2026, Tulip Day Washington will transform DC’s National Mall into a vibrant tulip-picking garden beautiful views of U.S. Capitol

This one-day event will take place from 11:15 AM – 4:15 PM, offering a floral showcase of approximately 150,000 tulips; visitors are invited to pick their choice of 10 tulips for free upon arrival.

Dig deeper:

The registration site for Tulip Day is currently down, showing users “This site is currently unavailable. If you’re the owner of this website, please contact your hosting provider to get this resolved.”

Users on social media say the event may be sold out.

Check tulipday.eu for updates.

The backstory:

The event is organized by the Embassy of the Netherlands and Royal Anthos, a Dutch trade association, in honor of America’s 250th birthday. The display of tulips will be in the shape of the number 250.

The bulbs come from the Netherlands, but are being grown in Virginia and New Jersey.

These won’t be the first tulips on the National Mall, however. The Floral Library, also known as the Tulip Library, features 93 beds of flowers near the Tidal Basin. The Floral Library was established in 1969, and is maintained by the National Park Services. These flowers, though, are to be enjoyed only – not to be picked.

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Washington

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

The562’s coverage of Dirtbags Baseball for the 2026 season is sponsored by P2S, Inc. Visit p2sinc.com to learn more.

Long Beach State dropped a 9-7 decision against Washington State on Sunday afternoon, closing out a busy weekend on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.

The visiting Cougars took the lead for good in the eighth inning when Long Beach Poly grad Ryan Skjonsby delivered a game-winning two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded. Skjonsby was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three RBIs for Washington State in their road victory.

For the Dirtbags, catcher Damon Valdez scored twice and had a key two-run single in the sixth to help lead a Long Beach comeback. Trevor Goldenetz had a pair of hits at the top of the order, including an RBI triple. Camden Gasser walked twice and singled, improving his on-base percentage to .574 on the season.

Long Beach State (4-7) will be back in action at home on Tuesday with an exhibition match against Waseda University from Japan. The Dirtbags will then visit San Diego State on Wednesday and open Big West play at UC Santa Barbara this weekend.

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Washington

Week Ahead in Washington: March 1

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Operation “Epic Fury” — the weekend military operations carried out by the U.S. and Israel against targets in Iran — tops the agenda for Congress as lawmakers return to Washington.

Sunday, President Donald Trump said the new leadership in Iran wants to talk to the Trump Administration.

Democrats in both chambers called for Congress to return as soon as possible for classified briefings on Iran, followed by a move to vote on the War Powers Act. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war on another country.

Congress’ return to Washington was originally delayed due to the start of the 2026 midterm elections cycle.

Tuesday, voters in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas head to the polls for primary elections.

North Carolina and Texas are drawing significant attention, as both states are facing congressional redistricting and competitive primary races for Senate seats.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) is facing primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing state Rep. James Talarico.

In North Carolina, candidates are vying to replacing retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R) . They include former Governor Roy Cooper (D) and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.

Also this week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is laid to rest. He will be honored Wednesday in Washington before a final memorial service Saturday. Jackson died Feb. 17.

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