High school softball: State tournament roundup

SATURDAY (MAY 28)

4A

NO. 6 BATTLE GROUND 14, NO. 4 PUYALLUP 4, 6 INNINGS

The Vikings’ season has come to an end with back to back losses in the 4A fastpitch state tournament.

In their first game in the semifinals of the championship bracket, they played a close game against No. 8 Redmond. Ultimately getting upset by the Mustangs 4-1, Puyallup still had a chance to make it to the 3rd/4th place game.

Unfortunately, their journey wouldn’t continue from there either as No. 6 Battle Ground upset the Vikings 14-4 as well.

Although they didn’t come home with any hardware, Puyallup finishes their season with a 25-3 record.

3A

NO. 3 ROOSEVELT 11, NO. 5 BONNEY LAKE 6

Throughout Bonney Lake’s 3A state tournament run, rumors spread regarding the team’s fifth seed. A “couple teams” considered the ranking generous.

“Overrated is the right word. That’s what we had heard,” coach Kate Zender said. “And we proved ourselves.”

Bonney Lake dropped Saturday’s third-place contest with No. 3 Roosevelt, 11-6, but secured a fourth-place finish in the bracket, one better than their fifth-seed ranking.

“I talked to the girls about that just after the game, how proud we were of how far we went,” Zender said.

A triple-header on Saturday began with a 4-1 loss to top-ranked Walla Walla in the semifinals, which dropped Bonney Lake to the loser’s bracket.

Walla Walla wasn’t a team Bonney Lake knew much about, Zender said. And the game could have been closer, had the Panthers found more luck on hard-hit balls.

“We had a lot of hard shots,” Zender said. “They were just hit straight to them.

“For them to be ranked number one and for us to kind of be the underdogs... I thought we had a really good fight.”

The loss eliminated the Panthers from title contention, though Bonney Lake remained in the running for third place. In their second contest Saturday, Zender dubbed sophomore first baseman Jadyn Johnson the player of the game in a 10-5 win over No. 13 Monroe.

Johnson went 4-for-4 with three homers. Monroe pitchers “were afraid” of her, and opted to pitch around her.

But that didn’t matter. Johnson wound up with six RBI.

“She was just on fire,” Zender said. “(The game) was back and forth. Every time (Monroe) got close to us, Jadyn would be up to bat pretty soon, and hit another home run.”

Bonney Lake’s win pushed the Panthers to a third and final game, with third-place honors on the line. Carazo pitched the first inning — plus the entirety of the previous contests — before Alissa Hermansen entered for the remainder.

Roosevelt tacked on sixth runs in the first inning, and led for the game’s entirety. Bonney Lake’s season (22-5, 12-0) featured an undefeated run through the 3A PCL and second-place finish in the District 3/4 bracket.

NO. 3 ROOSEVELT 15, NO. 15 AUBURN RIVERSIDE 8

The Ravens string of upsets came to an end in their loss to the Roughriders, the eventual third place finishers in the 3A state tournament.

Auburn Riverside’s day started with their matchup against No. 8 Yelm. The Tornados wrapped up their first day of the tournament with a 17-11 win over No. 11 Blanchet. However, their offense as silenced by the Ravens as they took down Yelm with a score of 12-2.

Coming against Roosevelt though, it was Auburn Riverside whose bats were silenced. The Roughriders won their matchup 15-8.

They finish their season with a record of 19-9.

2A

NO. 6 TUMWATER 13, NO. 1 OTHELLO 3

For the third time in history, the state championship trophy will be on display at Tumwater High School.

The T-Birds won twice on Saturday, first in the state semifinals over league-rival and perennial contender W.F. West, 5-3. Tumwater then upset top-ranked Othello thereafter, routing them via ten-run rule to capture the 2A title.

Tumwater had yet to win it all since 2006; in 2012, the T-Birds lost to W.F. West in a rout, 15-3. But on Saturday, the conference hierarchy shifted.

The T-Birds dominated with the long ball over Othello, both early and often. Freshman catcher Jaime Haase crushed a three-run home run in the first inning, and so did Ella Ferguson in the fifth. Aly Watermeyer, one of five Tumwater seniors, swatted two homers.

A four-run sixth signaled a ten-run advantage and win by default for the sixth-seeded T-Birds. Those in attendance at Carlon Park in Selah watched as Tumwater teammates stormed the field with joy, some for their final time.

Their season ends with the 2A EvCo crown, plus second-place honors in the District 4 tournament, having lost that bracket’s championship to W.F. West on May 20. The Bearcats spoiled Tumwater’s (22-2, 15-1) near-perfect regular season on April 15 with a 5-3 win. The T-Birds’ revenge in Saturday’s state semifinal marked their fifth contest with each other this year — Tumwater won the season series 3-2.

NO. 2 W.F. WEST 14, NO. 3 LYNDEN 4

The Bearcats are bringing home a third-place finish in the 2A state fastpitch tournament, their best finish since coming in second place in 2019.

However, it was a difficult road to get there. The first of their three games today came against 2A Evergreen League rival Tumwater in the semifinals. That contest did not go the way W.F. West wanted, as they lost 5-3.

After the loss, it was time to rally. Their first game was an eight-inning marathon against No. 14 Rochester, where the Bearcats won 12-8. That win put them in the 3rd/4th place game against No. 3 Lynden. However in this game, it wasn’t as close as W.F. West came away with the win 14-4.

“We played Tumwater for the fifth time this year and it definitely the feel from a championship game. It was a bummer that we played that game in the morning, because it’s a type of game you would play on a Saturday afternoon,” said coach Caty Lieseke. “That game came down to a few pitches and plays. We played them tough. [Senior] Kamy Dacus threw a great game, he battled to keep us in it.”

Playing against Rochester, it was hard for the Bearcats to come back and play. The bats didn’t wake up until they were down three going into the seventh inning. However, with their back against the wall, that’s when they decided they were not done playing.

Players like junior Savannah Hawkins and freshman Avalon Myers came up with big hits with runners in scoring position. They tied the game up against Rochester and forced extra innings.

And again, the bats came alive and the entire lineup rallied for the 12-8 victory. That put them in the 3rd/4th place game against Lynden, where from the get go W.F. West felt like they were in control.

“We felt in control against Lynden, it was our game to win,” Lieseke said. “Since day one, we’ve talked about bringing home a trophy. Third place is something to be proud of, especially for the juniors to be part of state. We are feeding the fire to do better in the future.”

Every player had a good day at the plate for the Bearcats against Lynden and contributed to their third-place win.

W.F. West finishes their season with a record of 22-5.

1A

NO. 1 EATONVILLE 13, NO. 6 MOUNT BAKER 6

Eatonville’s Saturday triple-header began with a loss in the state semifinals, but the Cruisers altered course and secured a third-place finish in the tournament with a 13-6 win over Mount Baker.

No. 5 Lakeside downed the top-ranked Cruisers in the semis, 6-2. That’s when Eatonville capped their season with consecutive wins, first over No. 7 Hoquiam, 9-7, and then over Mount Baker.

Eatonville (22-5, 11-2) won the 1A Evergreen Conference and took home the district title after three consecutive wins. The combined total from those contests: 26-3.

MORE SCORES

CHAMPIONSHIPS

4A

No. 8 Redmond 7, No. 3 Skyview 6

3A

No. 2 Lake Washington 14, No. 1 Walla Walla 5

1A

No. 2 Nooksack Valley 4, No. 5 Lakeside 3