The No. 15 seed Warriors (15-10) face No. 2 seed Lake Washington at 10 a.m. Saturday at Mount Si High School. The winner then faces either No. 7 seed Lynnwood or No. 10 seed Mt. Spokane later in the day for a trip to next week’s 3A state final four in Pasco.

“When they’re on the mound, we always have a chance to compete and win games,” Somoza said. “And they give us that every time — every single time.

“They don’t take pitches off. And I think that’s what makes them incredible pitchers — their focus. They’re gamers. They pound the strike zone and they compete.”

Marshall-Inman and Gabler are longtime friends who have been playing together for years.

They played on back-to-back state championship teams with the Pacific Little League All-Stars, winning the 10-and-11-year-old state title in 2015 and the 12-year-old state crown in 2016. Their 2016 team reached the Northwest Regionals and came within one win of advancing to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Since then, Marshall-Inman and Gabler have spent most summers playing on the same select teams.