With a second-place league finish under their belts, the White River High baseball team has launched into postseason play.

The Hornets’ first stop is the subdistrict tournament, which began Tuesday. Eight teams are taking part and all eight will advance to district play; the subdistrict tourney determines seeding.

White River took on Orting High Tuesday at Russell Road Park and will play again at 4 p.m. Thursday. If the Hornets won Tuesday, they play Thursday at Enumclaw High’s Osborne Field against the winner of a game between Franklin Pierce and Lindbergh; if the Hornets lost Tuesday, they next play at Thursday at Russell Road against the Franklin Pierce/Lindbergh loser.

All eight subdistrict teams will wrap up the tournament Saturday.

White River finished the South Puget Sound League 2A season Saturday by whitewashing Orting 12-0.

The game meant nothing toward the league standings, as White river had locked up the No. 2 spot.

The interesting games came last week, when the Hornets took on Sumner High twice in games that could have settled the league championship. Things failed to go White River’s way, as the top-ranked Spartans walked away winners in both contests.

Coach Mike Williams clearly wasn’t pleased at the outcome. While acknowledging that Sumner is among the state’s better teams, the veteran coach wasn’t happy with his team’s approach.

“We didn’t seize opportunities for multiple reasons – lack of focus, loss of composure and, at times, looking like deer in the headlights,” Williams said. The Hornets’ goal, he added, is to always be prepared and focused, welcoming the spotlight.

Williams’ displeasure was evident in the second Sumner game, when White River committed seven errors. It was a very un-Hornet like performance from a team that made relatively few miscues all season. And for a team with a potent offense, White River managed just eight hits in the two outings.

White River fell to Sumner 2-0 in a 10-inning affair on April 29, then dropped a 6-2 decision a day later.

Sumner finished 13-1 in SPSL 2A play, followed by White River at 12-2.