ANACORTES — Saturday’s games at the Class 2A Northwest District baseball tournament were scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Sehome didn’t appear to arrive until about 11:20, but the Mariners still earned a return trip to the state tournament.

Sehome (19-4) overcame a baffling, horrendous start against Burlington-Edison but rallied to defeat the Tigers 5-4, then followed that up with a convincing 11-1 six-inning win over Lynden to earn third place in the tournament.

By virtue of their 11-0 pounding of Lakewood in their opening game Saturday, the Lions (15-9) also earned a trip to the state tournament. According to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Web site, Lynden plays at Yelm High School at 1 p.m. Saturday against the top seed from District 3.

As the No. 3 team from District 1, Sehome is scheduled to play the No. 2 team from District 3 at 10 a.m. Saturday at Volunteer Field in Anacortes. In the Mariners’ bracket will be Archbishop Murphy, which won the Northwest District championship Saturday with a 9-6 win over Cedarcrest.

SEHOME 5, BURLINGTON-EDISON 4

The Mariners scored three runs in the fourth inning to overcome their own set of bizarre blunders early in the game.

Sehome committed three errors in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers had nothing to show for it when Jared Vera, who gave up six hits in two-plus innings, forced Zach Livingston to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Odd play by the Mariners continued into the bottom of the first, when Derek Aemmer, running for Vera, was caught stealing and Wes Drilias was picked off first base by Tigers pitcher Grady Hansen.

Burlington took advantage in the second, scoring three runs on doubles by Brian Holmkvist and Jameson Acoba, and a single by Troy O’Neill.

The Tigers scored their final run in the top of the third when Tyler McLeod singled and Holmkvist was hit by a pitch by Sehome reliever Conor Long. That would be all the damage Long would allow, however, as the senior right-hander struck out six and allowed just two hits.

The Sehome hitters began to chip away, and the Mariners tied the game with one run in the third and three more in the fourth.

Tenny Pitsch’s double scored Ryan Williams to cut the lead to 4-2, and when Derek Handy walked and Tim Niebruegge was hit by a pitch, the Mariners had the bases loaded with one out.

Will Moore hit a chopper to shortstop Ian Capron, who threw to second to force Niebruegge, as Pitsch scored. The relay throw to first was high and wide, and Moore reached second as Handy scored the tying run. Burlington fans howled for an interference ruling at second base that would have ended the inning, but didn’t get the call.

The Mariners took their first lead in the fifth when Long’s ground ball to the middle of the infield was bobbled, allowing Drilias to score the eventual game-winner.

Long and the Sehome defense took care of the rest. In the sixth, Long threw a fastball by McLeod, the Tigers’ cleanup hitter, to end the inning. In the seventh, Stransky singled with one out, but Long fanned Scott Jensen and retired Kolby Arendse on a ground ball to Niebruegge.

“What a great day for us, to beat Burlington like we did,” Sehome coach Gary Hatch said. “Really, that was two games, I thought. I didn’t recognize the team out there at the beginning.

“And then at the end, we played like we were capable, and they kind of turned into a sour side. But that’s high school baseball.”

LYNDEN 11, LAKEWOOD 0

(6 INNINGS)

The Lions broke open a scoreless game in the fifth inning with eight runs and tallied three more runs an inning later to defeat the Cougars in six innings.

“I was happy the way our bats finally came alive,” Lynden coach Cory White said. “Our pitching has been carrying us all year, and our bats have kind of been on the back burner.”

Teddy Bugas got the scoring started with a bases-clearing double off the centerfield wall for a 3-0 score. Lynden added five straight hits after Bugas’ hit, including three doubles, to increase the lead to eight.

“That hit opened it up,” White said.

Bugas finished 2 for 3 with three RBI and Tyler Lingbloom was 2 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI. Adam Lewis added two hits, a double and two RBI; Charlie Voth had two RBI; Ryan Hastings collected two hits; and Ryan Gaylord was 2 for 4 with a double.

Hastings got the win and struck out nine with two walks.

The victory clinched a state berth for the Lions, their fourth trip in the last 15 years, White said. Lynden’s last trip to the state tournament was in 2005 when it advanced to the quarterfinals.

SEHOME 11, LYNDEN 1 (6 INNINGS)

The Sehome hitters pounded out 11 hits and junior pitcher Dane Siegfried limited the Lions to three as the Mariners clinched third place in the district tournament.

“We hit the ball about as good as we have all year,” Hatch said.

Sehome scored three runs each in the second and third innings, and added four in the fourth. Vera, who had two hits in the win over Burlington, had two doubles and four RBI against the Lions.

Drilias had two doubles and two runs, and Anthony Pitsch, Williams and Long each had doubles. Derek Aemmer had a two-run single in the third.

Niebruegge drove in the clinching run in the sixth when he singled to drive in Moore, who had also singled.

Siegfried allowed three hits and struck out two, and the Mariners had only one error in the field; the Lions committed five errors, including three in the third inning.

Tyler Lingbloom drilled a solo home run to deep left-center field in the first inning for Lynden, and Adam Lewis had two hits, including a double.

Siegfried said his plan was to throw strikes and let his teammates take care of business.

“We know Lynden pretty well; this is our third time playing them this year,” Siegfried said. “I knew, after the first game, that our team would get hits in this game because we all believed in each other.

“If I just go out there and pitch like I knew I was capable of, then my teammates would back me up.”