1A State Softball: Grand slam from Kingsley Williams sends Seton Catholic into state semifinals
May 22-RICHLAND - Kingsley Williams waited for her pitch, waited for her moment.
And when that arrived, the senior did not miss it.
Williams hit a grand slam in the second inning as the Seton Catholic softball team advanced to the 1A state semifinals with a 5-0 win over Lynden Christian on Friday.
"It's just exciting that we get to keep going," Williams said. "And we've been waiting for this moment all season."
The Cougars return to the state semifinals for the second time in three seasons and will face No. 2 seed Cedar Park Christian at 9 a.m. Saturday at Columbia Playfields.
Friday's quarterfinal game broke the Cougars' way in the bottom of the second inning after Seton Catholic loaded the bases with one out.
Williams fouled off two pitches from Lynden Christian's Roxanne Lenning before driving the 2-2 pitch over the left-center field fence for a home run and 4-0 Seton lead.
"I knew she was going to give something if I just kept fighting them off," Williams said. "We've faced her a few times, so I knew she was going to keep throwing them away. So I just waited for my pitch, choked up, stayed short and drove it out there."
Those four runs would prove to be more than enough with sophomore pitcher Jocelyn Kender in command.
Kender held the Lyncs to three hits while striking out 13 batters for the complete game.
"I've struggled with my drop ball a little this season, but it finally came back," Kender said. "It was really effective this game, as well as my rise ball. It was really successful to work down and up in the zone and keep the batters off-balance."
The Cougars added another run in the fourth when Williams doubled and came around to score on a single by Keeley Spanik.
Williams finished 3 for 4, and Spanik was 2 for 4 for the third-seeded Cougars.
The Cougars picked up one state championship on Friday, being awarded the 1A academic state championship with a team GPA of 3.851.
Now they look to add another title on the field Saturday.
And the Cougars are familiar with their semifinal foe, having fallen 6-5 to Cedar Park Christian in a non-league game on April 18.
"We know what to expect from Cedar Park," Williams said. "We've faced them before. So I think (we) just go hard and play our game and do great."
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