2B Softball: Adna Throttles Toutle Lake, 10-1, to Repeat as District 4 Champions

It felt like deja vu, and the Adna Lady Pirates certainly played like they had been there before.

Toutle Lake, a squad that went 17-1 in Central 2B League play and defeated Adna on both occasions in the regular season, came in as the favorite — just like last year.

Yet, when the stage was set for a rematch in the District 4 2B Softball Tournament’s title game, the Pirates came through once more, dominating Toutle Lake 10-1 at Fort Borst Park on Saturday.

"We just didn't play our best game at Toutle Lake," Adna coach Mike Raschke said. "We knew that we're the better team. We believed it all year long, and these kids showed it. We're playing exactly the ball we want to be with great defense, pitching, and hitting."

Many things were the same, but Adna's offensive ferocity was kicked up a notch. The Lady Pirates strung together a whopping 18 hits throughout the ballgame.

Leadoff hitter Kendra Stajduhar set the tone right away, knocking a double on the second pitch she saw. Two outs and two straight singles later, Stajduhar was brought in by Sam Rolfe for the first score of the night.

Toutle Lake fired back in the bottom of the first, with leadoff hitter Britzy Hockett echoing a double into deep right field before stealing home. The similarities would stop there, however, as Adna's defense clamped down, never allowing the Ducks to tally more than one hit in any inning after the first.

What followed for the next two innings was a stiff defensive bout, with difficult catches and well-executed relays being commonplace. It wasn't long before the Pirates broke out for a 5-run fourth frame.

"One thing we really have is timely hitting," Raschke said. "It's contagious and it's easy to see. Once one gets going, everyone follows and gets their bat going."

In this case, it was sophomore Katelyn Pine who got things going with a single, followed by catcher Lili Glover reaching on an error. A single from Stadjuhar loaded the bases and junior Josey Sandrini grounded out to short to bring Pine in for a sac-RBI.

Shanay Dotson brought in 2 more runs with a single, leading to a Cheyenne Gilbertson single and another RBI from Rolfe before the inning came to an end, effectively going through the entirety of the batting order.

After an error, the Pirates retired the next three Toutle batters. After tacking on 2 more runs in the fifth inning, the Pirates once again shined defensively. Hockett knocked a single, but a fly-out and a line drive straight to the glove of shortstop Dotson led to a double play to first, sitting the first three batters down in that inning, as well.

After a hit from Sam Woodley, the Pirates retired the next six batters — all while adding another 2 runs in the final stanza for good measure — to claim the district title for the second straight year.

Rolfe, just as in the outing the year before, received the start on the hill and went the distance. Now a junior, Rolfe struck out four and walked none while allowing seven spread out hits. She helped herself at the plate with a 3 for 4, 2 RBI performance.

"I think we had a little bit more confidence," Rolfe said. "We were ready and we had worked really hard on the things that we didn't do so well in league. I think that has made us come together more really as a team."

Gilbertson, one of the two lone seniors on the roster, led the ballclub on offense in perfect fashion, going 4 for 4 with a fielder's choice and an RBI from the plate. As far as mindset, Gilbertson shared the same sentiment as Rolfe.

"I feel like we came prepared and fixed what we needed to fix," Gilbertson said. "We didn't come in scared of Toutle Lake, which is what we usually do. We came in confident and took care of business."

Other impressive performances came from Dotson, who went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs, and Pine, who was 2 for 2.

Comparing the Pirate squad of yesteryear to now, Raschke noted that team chemistry is at an all-time high, citing it as one of the many keys to success.

"In the nine years I've been here, I've never had the chemistry that these girls have," an emotional Raschke said. "They do everything together and I'm so proud of what they've become. We've got two great seniors, Aubri (Jimenez) and Cheyenne, and we're going to get that gold ball for them."

With the No. 1 seed, the Pirates are set for a matchup with Liberty Bell on Friday for the first round of the 2015 State 2B Softball Championships at the Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima.

Just like Adna's hitting, the optimism is just as contagious throughout the roster, as well as confidence. Rolfe and the rest of the squad share the same united vision moving forward.

"Our focus is to just keep playing within ourselves," Rolfe said. "We've worked so hard, we've just got to keep pushing forward and not let up."

Last year, the Pirates reached the semifinals in the tournament before being eliminated via two straight losses from C2BL rivals Napavine and Morton-White Pass, culminating in Toutle Lake taking the ultimate prize.

This time around, Raschke expects anything but the same results.

"Last year, we won district and we choked at state, but we're right at the top right now. These guys believe in it and that's what we have to do. I really don't think there is an obstacle that's going to come between us and the state championship. I just don't."

Tigers Drop PWV for Third

Abbi Music gave up one big hit, but was in control the rest of the way on Saturday as Napavine held off Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, 12-2, in the third/fourth place game of the District 4 2B Softball Tournament at Fort Borst Park.

Music, a freshman, walked two batters in the game, one of which was PWV's Lacey Joner to lead off the second inning. Lexi Brooks then hit a 2-run homer for PWV, and Music proceeded to retire the next 12 batters she faced to end the game. She finished with 10 strikeouts in the contest.

Napavine, meanwhile, led 3-0 after and inning scored 5 in the fourth to put the game away. Karlee Bornstein went 2 for 3 with a 2-run homer in the fifth and Sage Atkins was 3 for 4 with a double.

Napavine (19-4) will open State 2B action on Friday morning with an 11 a.m. game against Northwest Christian (Colbert). Pe Ell-Willapa Valley (15-11) will play Friday Harbor at 9 a.m. in the first round.

Brooks Hits Walk-Off Home Run to Send MWP to State

Taylor Brooks didn't want her season to end just yet.

The lone senior on the Morton-White Pass roster hit a walk-off 2-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Onalaska, 8-6, on Saturday in the fifth-place game of the District 4 2B Softball Tournament.

The homer, and the win, gave MWP the fifth and final berth into the State 2B Softball Tournament.

Onalaska led 4-0 after the top of the first inning, helped by a 2-run triple from Gabby Wright, only to see the Timberwolves claw back into it. MWP tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth inning, with a 2-run homer from Christine Robbins and an RBI single from Jazymayne Peake.

The Loggers then went up 6-4 in the top of the seventh on a 2-run homer from Alicia Vint, but MWP tied it back up with a 2-run homer from Sharon Hazen in the bottom of the seventh.

Kylie Allen singled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, and scored on Brooks' game-ending homer.

Robbins pitched all eight innings for MWP, allowing nine hits and striking out eight, and went 3 for 3 at the plate. Allen had two hits, and Hazen went 3 for 4 with a triple.

Vint was 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles for Onalaska, while McKenna Ulery and Nikki Coleman had two hits each.

Morton-White Pass (13-13) will take on Warden at 11 a.m. Friday in the first round of the State 2B tournament.

Consolation Semifinals

Napavine 14, Morton-WP 0

The Tigers wasted little time sealing their state tournament bid, beating Morton-White Pass in five innings in the consolation semifinals on Saturday in Centralia.

Abbi Music pitched all five innings and allowed two hits for Napavine, which lead 14-0 after three innings.

Madi Thompson and Erika Potter each homered for the Tigers, with Grace Hamre and Sage Atkins each adding two hits.

Pe Ell-WV 16, Onalaska 1

Dakota Brooks threw a four-inning no-hitter against Onalaska on Saturday in the consolation semifinals to secure Pe Ell-Willapa Valley a spot in the State 2B Softball Tournament.

Brooks struck out four, and the Loggers' lone run came on a pair of errors by the PWV defense and a stolen base in the fourth inning. The Titans led 11-0 at that point.

Sidney Pollard went 3 for 4 with a double and a home run for PWV, while Lacey Joner was 3 for 3 with a homer, a triple and 2 RBIs.