It may have seemed like two different teams put on Auburn Mountainview baseball uniforms this past Saturday.

With a berth into the Washington State 3A championship tournament on the line, the Lions played two games at Foss High School, falling 14-5 to Highline in the 9:30 a.m game and beating South Puget Sound League 3A Division rival Enumclaw 3-2 in a 3 p.m. loser-out, winner-to-state contest.

“It was pretty interesting and exciting,” said Auburn Mountainview coach Glen Walker. “We did not come to play against Highline. We gave up a couple of runs early, didn’t battle too well and didn’t put the ball into play. Because they played a tough 11-inning game the night before, I don’t think the kids thought they needed to show up for them.”

The Pirates feasted on Lion pitching, notching 14 runs on 14 hits and scoring in every inning except the second.

The loss set up a rematch with the Hornets, the third time this season the two teams have battled, with Auburn Mountainview coming out on top each time.

“Our kids knew we could compete against them,” Walker said. “We left it up to the kids. We said ‘you know what you need to do.’”

The Lions responded with a gem of a game, won on a solo walk-off home run by junior Brandon Williams in the seventh inning.

The victory earned the team a weeklong-break, its first ever trip to the state tourney, and a 10 a.m. game tomorrow against No. 5 ranked Bishop Blanchet (16-4) at Wheeler Field in Centralia.

“I think it (the break) kind of helps us,” Walker said. “We’re doing some things we normally wouldn’t. We practiced at Green River and in the gym. We practiced with the middle school kids, kind of just keeping it light and making them understand this is just another game. I don’t want to keep banging on them about the importance of the game.”

So far, Walker said, the approach is working.

“I’ve got some kids with a real bounce in their step and some seniors with some intensity,” he said. “I think we’re going to do well.”