Lindbergh held on to beat Centralia 2-1 before falling to Burlington-Edison 10-1 later Saturday in the second round of the 2A state tournament at Yelm High School.

The Eagles (18-7) were competing in the state tournament for the first time since 2002. The win against Centralia was the team’s first state win since 1995.

Lindbergh led 2-0 most of the game until a few mistakes in the final two innings led Centralia threaten.

“They fight, then they go to sleep for a minute,” said Lindbergh coach Benny Benavides. “We were able to keep fighting and pull out the win.”

Through off and on rain, Matt Stuart kicked off the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning.

In the second inning, Craig Yamaguchi singled, then stole second base. Bakari Davis moved Yamaguchi to third with a groundout. Yamaguchi then came in to score on a wild pitch.

“We wanted to be aggressive just to see what they would do,” Benavides said. “They weren’t quite ready for it, so we kept the pressure on. One run here, one run there. It works.”

Stuart pitched well and held the Tigers scoreless through five innings. He allowed five hits and four walks, while striking out three.

“He was a gamer,” Benavides said. “He kept saying he was ready and fought as long as he could.”

Centralia threatened with a number of base runners in the sixth and seventh innings, but was able to score just a single run.

Cam Callen earned the save in relief of Stuart. Billy Hernandez had two of Lindbergh’s six hits.

Lindbergh advanced to face Burlington-Edison in the next round later Saturday evening. The Eagles struggled right away, allowing four runs in the first inning.

The Tigers then scored in each of the first four innings and built a 10-0 lead. Lindbergh added a run in the top of the sixth.

Yamaguchi went 2-3 with an RBI. Callen and Stuart each had hits for the Eagles.

Lindbergh ends the season 18-7 with a West Central District 2A title.