2A Softball: Bats Heat Up to Put W.F. West Into Semifinals

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SELAH — W.F. West’s bats got hot in the fifth inning, pounding 10 hits in the final two frames to win 11-1 in six innings against Selah in the State 2A Softball Tournament quarterfinals here Friday afternoon at Carlon Park.

The Bearcats face Woodland on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the semifinals and, with a win, would play for a second-straight state title at 2 p.m. W.F. West and Woodland played in the District 4 semifinals last week, a game the Bearcats won 10-5 in 10 innings.

“I just love seeing everybody coming out and swinging the bats well, and Ashlee Vadala was lights-out on the mound,” W.F. West coach Caty Lieseke said. “We had home runs scattered across but I love our approach getting base hits and we’re excited to be there.”

Vadala had three RBIs and two hits and Ashlyn Whalen had a double, a triple, three runs and an RBI.

Paytton Crawford and Ava Fugate each homered against Selah.

Vadala struck out nine batters in the circle and allowed three hits in the win.

W.F. West only had two hits in the first four innings, bringing across Olivia Dean and Ashlyn Whalen in the third inning for a 2-0 lead.

“We were hitting the ball right at some people and we knew they were going to fall, it was just a matter of when,” Lieseke said.

The Bearcats found their groove in the fifth inning. Whalen’s triple was followed by Vadala’s RBI single. Annika Waring hit a single to put two runners on before Fugate cleared the fence to bring home everyone and give W.F. West a 6-0 lead.



Crawford led off the sixth with a solo home run. McKenna Brinson hit a single and was brought home by Dean’s double. Paetynn Lopez knocked in Dean, Whalen hit a double and Vadala knocked in a run before Waring hit a bloop single to left field to end the game via the 10-run rule.

The Bearcats are in a familiar position in the state semifinals and Lieseke believes as long as the team continues to swing the bats well, they have a good chance of lifting the state trophy on Saturday.

“Pretty much what we’ve been doing — swinging the bats well, taking good approaches at the plate and being present in the moment and bringing the energy every time,” Lieseke said.

W.F. West Crushes White River in State Opener

SELAH — Ashlee Vadala got it done in the circle and at the plate for W.F. West en route to a 12-0 win in five innings over White River in the opening round of the State 2A tournament here on Friday.

Vadala allowed two hits with five strikeouts in a shutout performance. She added two doubles and three RBIs at the plate.

Olivia Dean had three hits including a double, two runs and an RBI and Ashlyn Whalen had two doubles, three RBIs and two runs.

Annika Waring added two hits and an RBI and Ava Fugate hit a 2-run home run.

The Bearcats scored a run in the first before breaking the game open with seven runs in the third inning. W.F. West added four runs in the fifth inning to end the game after five.