A rivalry? That’s so two months ago.

A quintet of Sequim High baseball players are helping their prep baseball brethren from Port Angeles and across the North Olympic Peninsula gear up for the Babe Ruth State tournament, set for July 13-15 in Ephrata.

Dusty Bates, a senior outfielder from Sequim, said he doesn’t even think about the fact he and fellow Wolves were going head-to-head for Olympic League victories back in May.

In his second year with Wilder, Bates said he can see how the rather sizable game schedule — about 30 games in six weeks — helps players improve.

“It’s actually really fun,” Bates said. “Practice is more intense so we get better. From high school to now, I’m way better. More reps helps.”

Bates joins fellow recent SHS grads Ian Quast and Tanner Rhodefer, along with Sequim senior-to-be Evan Hurn and junior-to-be James Grubb on the Wilder club, a select baseball club for 16-18 year olds on the Olympic Peninsula.

With both Bates, Rhodefer and P.A.’s Larsson Chapman injured either before or during their final homestand of the season, Wilder went 2-2 at their own 2015 Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Tournament last week. Wilder opened the tournament with a 2-1 win in eight innings against Lakeside Recovery on July 2, then battered KWRL Centerfield 16-5 at Civic Field on July 3. But Laces 19U of Everett edged Wilder 5-1 in a defensive battle on July 4 — Grubb took the loss despite giving up just two unearned runs in five innings — and then fell 6-2, this time to the Laces 18U squad, in the third/fourth place game on July 5.

“We were feeling good last weekend (and) I felt like we played well the first three games,” Hurn said, “but we just weren’t barreling it up (at the plate). Hopefully, we can get it together this week.”

Wilder plays a pair of games against North Kitsap’s AAA Legion in Poulsbo on July 8 before heading off to Ephrata.

“If everyone is healthy, we can do real well,” Bates said.

“A key is being patient and not taking half-swings,” Hurn said.