The Bearcats’ 16-3 win over R.A. Long Thursday evening, in the semifinals of the District 4 2A Softball Tournament, was a cause for celebration.
Even if it’s getting to be routine at this point.
The win secured the 12th-straight trip to the State 2A tournament for the Bearcats — as well as a shot in the district title game for the three-time defending district champs, who already won their third-straight Evergreen 2A Conference title this season.
“There’s always relief, and there’s always excitement,” W.F. West coach Mike Keen said. “It doesn’t get old. The only relief is, that’s where we set our expectations. We work hard all year round, these kids play summer ball, and it’s just nice that, ‘We did it. Okay.’”
The final score may not suggest it, but the game was tight early on. R.A. Long pitcher Maddie Cathcart launched a 2-run homer off Bearcat ace Ali Graham in the first inning, putting W.F. West in a 2-0 hole early on.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned,” Keen said. “We’re down 2-0, and their pitcher’s a stud. She throws the ball hard, and we didn’t hit the ball great in the first game.”
Cathcart walked the first two hitters she faced, however, and pickoff attempt that went into center field wound up allowing two runs to score. Still, Cathcart recovered and struck out three in the first inning to leave things tied at 2-2 heading into the second.
And that’s when the offense — which had been relatively quiet in a 5-0 win over Ridgefield two hours earlier — came to life.
Kassidy Grandorff, Jessica McKay and Olivia Dean all singled, Ashlee Vadala and Caitlin Reynolds each hit 2-run singles, and Roni Braun launched a monster 3-run homer to center field — her second of the day — that gave W.F. West a 10-2 cushion after two frames.
Graham, meanwhile, settled in on the mound, allowing just three singles over the final four innings of the 10-run-rule shortened contest and finishing with seven strikeouts.
The Bearcats added a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Vadala, and 5 more on five hits in the fifth, with Vadala and Reynolds each hitting RBI singles and McKay driving in a run with a double.
McKay and Vadala each had three hits, and Braun, Reynolds and Graham were each 2 for 3 at the plate. Eight of the nine spots in the lineup had a hit for W.F. West.
The Bearcats (18-3) move on to face Woodland in the District 4 championship game at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Note: Woodland beat Rochester, 7-5, in the first round, and shut out Tumwater, 11-0, in the other semifinal. … R.A. Long faces Rochester at 4 p.m. Friday in a loser-out consolation semifinal.
W.F. West 5, Ridgefield 0
Freshman Ashlee Vadala was lights-out in the circle and the Bearcat bats did just enough damage to keep the Spudders at bay in a 5-0 opening-round win in District 4 tournament action Thursday at Fort Borst Park.
Vadala carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, when she dealt a full-count walk to Ashley Christensen for the first Spudder baserunner of the game. She retired Madison Ochoa on a ground ball to third to end the sixth inning and keep her no-hitter intact, but got a pair of singles in the seventh inning for its only hits of the game.
Vadala struck out 11 in the complete game effort.
Ali Graham hit a 2-run homer in the first inning, and Roni Braun hit a 3-run shot in the fifth frame to account for the entirety of the Bearcats’ runs.
Jordan Crawford went 3 for 3 for W.F. West, and Olivia Dean and Graham each had two hits.
