Saturday, May. 30, 2009

Wa-Hi survives up-and-down day

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

The Walla Walla softball team capped a wild day at the 4A state tournament at SERA Fields in Tacoma, coming within a hair's width of a spot in today's semifinals before having that chance ripped away in the final inning in a 4-3 quarterfinal loss to Auburn-Riverside.

But the Blue Devils, by the grace of solid pitching and some heroic efforts on offense, are still alive after a 4-2 win over Kennewick on Friday night. The Lions took a 2-0 lead after two innings, but Walla Walla scored four runs in the bottom of the second -- highlighted by Jill McDaniels' two-run single -- to go ahead for good.

"That was a battle. No doubt about it," said Blue Devils coach Jerry Humphries. "They jumped on us in the first two innings, but we were able to push four runs across."

Wa-Hi will play Stanwood (22-4) at 11 a.m. today and will need two more wins to secure a spot in the third-fourth place game at 3:30 p.m.

Walla Walla was reeling after its loss to Auburn-Riverside, which would have put the Blue Devils into the semifinals for the first time ever. Wa-Hi erased a 1-0 deficit in the third inning after a two-base throwing error by the Ravens, allowing Alicia Baker and Jill McDaniels to score for a 2-1 lead.

But the Blue Devils, leading 3-2 in the top of the seventh, later returned the favor as third baseman Abbey Reardon fielded a bunt and overthrew first base, sending Jaime Koenig and Sheldon Doyle in with the go-ahead runs. Walla Walla mounted a promising rally in the bottom of the seventh, getting a pair of one-out singles from Reardon and Baker. But the Blue Devils left them stranded to end the game.

"I'm very proud of the way (Reardon) came back in her next at bat. It says a lot about Abbey Reardon," said Wa-Hi coach Jerry Humphries.

Baker, however, was hoping for a bit more of the magic she displayed in the Blue Devils' 2-0 first-round win over Cascade-Everett. In a scoreless game, the junior shortstop pounced on a 1-1 riseball from Sam Munger with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and sent it screaming over the fence in straightaway center field for the walk-off victory.

"I knew it was going to be over (the outfielder's) head. I didn't think it would be gone," Baker said. "It was the perfect pitch -- right down the middle and a little to the outside."

Kennewick had a lot to be proud of in its first-ever state fastpitch appearance, rallying for three runs the sixth inning to beat Kentwood 3-2 in the consolation first round. The Lions went 1-2 on the day.

Taylor Bakos, who pitched every single inning for the Lions in three games Friday, drove in the go-ahead run against the Conquerors with an RBI double. Bakos hasn't batted in a game for Kennewick since injuring her knee in the first week of the season.

"All season long I've been wanting to hit to help the team score," said Bakos, whose sister Sara also chipped in an RBI double against Kentwood. "We didn't want to just show up today. We felt we accomplished something."

Kamiakin, which went 3-2 in its first state appearance at the 3A tournament last season, did not fare as well at the 4A tourney. The Braves lost 6-0 to Central Kitsap in its first game after a four-hit shutout by Cougars pitcher Carolyn Cross. Then, Kamiakin allowed a pair of runs in the seventh inning in a 4-3 loss to Thomas Jefferson to end its day.

"The two games today didn't show the outcome of how well we played this season," said Kamiakin coach Tammy Hutchison. "At the beginning of the season I told them in order to go deep into the playoffs they needed to learn how to become a team and they did that."

Class 1A

The Connell and River View teams suffered setbacks in the first round at the 1A championships Friday afternoon at the TRAC in Pasco -- the Eagles fell 4-1 to Castle Rock and the Panthers fell 3-0 to Chimacum -- but only Connell survived the elimination rounds that followed.

"They scored on every error we had," Connell coach Andy Sawyer said. "That was pretty tough draw getting Castle Rock."

Connell defeated Orting 4-1 in its first loser-out game, and then edged Cle Elum 3-2. The Eagles will play Toledo at 10 a.m. today.

Debbie Molsbarger posted 13 strikeouts for the day for the Eagles and Yessenia Vergara had the game-winning RBI in the matchup with Cle Elum with a line shot in the gap in the bottom of the seventh.

"They're not hitting the ball really well, we'll see how it goes," Sawyer said of Toledo. "They came out of same league as Castle Rock. They're going to fight to the end."

Meanwhile, River View beat Lakeside 6-5 in its first elimination contest but ended its season with a 5-1 loss to Nooksack Valley.

"We competed, we really did," said Panthers coach Andy Clayton. "The girls didn't give up. They worked as hard as they did in the seventh inning as they did in the first. Overall, we're pleased with our season. Nineteen wins is a pretty big accomplishment for us."

Sophomore Demi McGill went 2-for-4 in River View's matchup with Lakeside, including the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the seventh.

Class 1B

YAKIMA -- Stephanie Samuels recorded 10 strikeouts as Touchet beat Thorp-Easton 5-0 in the semifinals at the 1B softball championships at the Gateway Sports Complex.

Touchet will play Colton at 4 p.m. today for the championship.

In the quarterfinals earlier in the day, Nichole Brown struck out seven and the Indians edged Almira/Coulee-Hartline 1-0 in the quarterfinals.