Walla Walla, Kamiakin win district softball titles

It wasn’t the cleanest game of softball, but Walla Walla High School coach Arch McHie was happy to come away with a win Saturday at Columbia Playfield in Richland.

The 5-3 victory over Richland gave the Blue Devils (22-2) their second consecutive district title and the Mid-Columbia Conference’s No. 1 seed going into next week’s Class 4A regional tournament.

Wa-Hi committed three errors, but Brandi Schoessler struck out five in seven innings to help keep the damage to a minimum.

“I’m sure we’re gonna see Richland in the regional title game, there’s no doubt about that,” McHie said. “We get to play (the Greater Spokane League) No. 2. Richland’s gotta play a couple games, but they’re spread out. They’re gonna be just fine.”

Richland (18-4-1), which beat Chiawana 13-2 in an elimination game earlier Saturday, will play Mead (16-6) in a regional loser-out game for the second consecutive year. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at Columbia Playfield.

Next Saturday at University High School in Spokane Valley, Tuesday’s winner will face Central Valley (15-7), the GSL’s No. 1 seed, while Wa-Hi will play University (17-4). Three state berths are available out of the 4A regional.

DEVILS GET LAST CACKLE

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Mikaela Forcum hit an RBI single to give Walla Walla a 4-3 lead, and Meghan Yenney came home on a wild pitch by Brandi Andrews.

Of course, that’s hardly an insurance run when the top of Richland’s powerful lineup is coming up to bat.

But Kelsea Hinkley, Paige Liikala and Stephanie Merwin went down thanks to Walla Walla’s infield defense, and the Blue Devils began the celebration on their rival’s home field.

“Richland is an incredibly good team, and we knew their 1-2-3 (hitters) were coming up,” McHie said. “The key was just to stay calm. The two big runs took a lot of pressure off, of course, and you got a run to play with there. Having two is a big deal, and I think when you take the pressure off, things tend to get a little easier.”

It was Wa-Hi’s third consecutive victory over Richland. The Blue Devils won the second game of their regular-season doubleheader, then beat the Bombers 9-5 in a tiebreaker for the No. 1 district seed.

“I think it was good that they beat us in the first game of that doubleheader because after that, there was a thirst for blood and there was no going back,” Forcum said.

BACK AND FORTH

Walla Walla opened the scoring Saturday on a passed ball in the first, but Richland got the run back on a throwing error in the second.

In the fifth, back-to-back RBI singles by Liikala and Merwin, who drove in seven runs against Chiawana, gave the Bombers a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Emma Sweet singled in a run, getting the Blue Devils to within 3-2. With runners on first and third, Kamryn Coleman hit a grounder, and Sweet was out at second. But the tying run scored when the Bombers failed to get Coleman out for a double play.

“Against a good team like that, you just can’t make those mistakes that we made,” Richland coach Casey Emery said. “We got a couple freshmen that are out there playing, and just maybe a little bit of nerves, but Walla Walla puts a lot of pressure on you. There’s a lot of base runners. I firmly believe we’re two of the best teams in the state, and we just can’t make those types of mistakes against that good of a team and come out on top.”

3A DISTRICTS

Kamiakin also repeated as a district champion, holding off Hanford 7-3 in the 3A title game at Columbia Playfield.

Both teams will head to next Saturday’s regional tournament at University High School. Kamiakin (9-12) will face Shadle Park (17-3) for the No. 1 seed to state, while Hanford (8-14) plays Mt. Spokane (15-7) in a loser-out game. Two teams will advance out of the 3A regional to state.

The Falcons earned their spot in the MCC district final by eliminating Southridge 11-1 in five innings earlier Saturday. Catie Bishop pitched a two-hitter against the Suns (8-12).

Hanford scored all of its runs off Kamiakin reliever Cassidy Rowe in the top of the seventh before the Braves stemmed the rally.

Kamiakin’s Madison Matthews finished with three RBIs. Andria Skeels started in the circle for the Braves and shut out the Falcons over 6 1/3 innings, giving up two hits.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Walla Walla, Kamiakin win district softball titles."