Pe Ell product Dakota Brooks went 3-for-5 with two doubles and her conference-leading 20th homer of the season but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Centralia Lady Blazers were outlasted by Bellevue, 19-11, late Saturday night in Spokane at the Northwest Athletic Conference softball championships. The game was Centralia’s third in a marathon day in which the Lady Blazers lost a 9-1 opener to Lower Columbia but bounced back for a 12-4 romp over Highline before running out of gas against Bellevue, all within a twelve-hour period.
Bellevue went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning but Britzy Hockett scored from third on a Jayden Benson groundout and Mikayla Kanawyer singled Brooks home with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame. The Bulldogs regained the lead in the second on Tatum Dow’s grand slam and held it until the bottom of the third when Brooks’ three-run bomb off off Ryley Eldridge touched off a six-run outburst that also featured an inside-the-park homer by Adna grad Devanie Kleemeyer, also good for three tallies, as eleven Lady Blazers went to the plate (with the first eight eight reaching base) to give Centralia an 8-5 lead.
Bellevue then sent ten batters up to post six scores of their own in the fourth, chasing Brooks from the mound in the process. The Bulldogs built their lead to 15-8 and while the Lady Blazers scored three more runs in the bottom of the sixth (two on a Brooks double), it was too little too late.
Besides Brooks’ offensive outburst and Kleemeyer’s three-run roundtripper, Hockett finished with three runs while Mikayla Deffenbaugh and Shelby Levang contributed two singles apiece. Brooks took the loss but reliever Keiley Higaki took the most damage, allowing 14 runs (11 earned) over the final four innings for the Blazers, who finished 24-20 on the season after concluding their eleventh consecutive NWAC Championships appearance.
Brooks finished the year batting an even .500 with 20 homers and 79 RBIs over 42 games while striking out just 11 times and eight more players topped the .300 mark as the Lady Blazers batted .348 as a team while scoring 7.68 runs per game. Conversely, Centralia pitchers allowed 10.44 earned runs per seven innings in Spokane over the weekend, indicating room for improvement.
It was also the final time suiting up for sophomore starters Kanawyer, Deffenbaugh and Keeley-Shea Salazar along with reserves Makala Wolf and Toni Cloud. After the conclusion of her college softball career before transferring to Bellevue in the fall to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree, Kanawyer reflected on her two-year Centralia career: “Everything was a fight for us this year and we had to learn how to fight back, how to bounce back from an error and I think that easily carries through to life.” Kanawyer, Deffenbaugh, Salazar and Wolf all received academic honors during their time at Centralia.
Despite the loss, Centralia coach Kevin Slorey remained upbeat. “Our effort was outstanding,” he said. “We played until the bitter end and I think that’s the biggest thing. The girls worked their asses off all year so I thought that was awesome.”
Brooks Bomb Keys Blazer Softball Comeback Win to Stay Alive at NWAC Championships
One big inning erased a 4-0 deficit and another bountiful frame put the game away as the Centralia College softball team trounced Highline, 12-3, Saturday afternoon to stay alive at the Northwest Athletic Conference championships in Spokane. The Lady Blazers lost their opening contest to Lower Columbia, 9-1, earlier in the day.
Highline jumped to a 2-0 lead with a four-hit second inning and extended their lead in the third when Centralia starter Dakota Brooks’ first two deliveries were belted for homers by Rosie Del Rosario and Kiana Kingsley, leading to head coach Kevin Slorey bringing in freshman Keiley Higaki from Oahu to replace Brooks, who was shifted to first base. Higaki went on to blank the Thunderbirds the rest of the way while scattering five hits over four innings.
Brooks earned some redemption by keying a six-run outburst in the third, blasting a three-run homer to left as the Lady Blazers sent eleven batters to the plate against Highline hurler Ashley Hendrickson to take a 6-4 advantage. Centralia added one more run in the fifth when Shelby Levang tripled off the glove of centerfielder Rhonda Sheldon before the Lady Blazers ripped Del Rosario, who relieved Hendrickson, for another five runs on three hits and three walks in the sixth, with Keeley-Shea Salazar ending the contest by singling in Mikayla Deffenbaugh with the bases loaded.
Higaki earned the win in relief for Centralia while Hendrickson absorbed the loss for Highline. Salazar and Jayden Benson each had two hits for the winners, with Benson adding a pair of RBIs, as did Levang and Devanie Kleemeyer. Deffenbaugh made a difference with her glove, starting one double play on an up-the-mille grounder by Hailey Clark in the third and diving to catch a sinking Sheldon liner to end the fourth.
After the game, Slorey said he wasn’t worried when he replaced Brooks with Higaki while trailing 4-0. “Hawaii’s been pitching really good and as long as she threw strikes, I knew we had a chance to come back and win it and I thought our hitters made a great adjustment on their pitchers and waited for their pitch.” The Lady Blazers next play either Clackamas or Treasure Valley.
The Lady Blazers opened the day with a 9-1 opening round loss to Lower Columbia. Centralia was able to put runners on base every inning but the first against Red Devils ace hurler Nzhoni Wheeler, but could only plate one run in the fifth inning when a bases-loaded walk to Salazar pushed Deffenbaugh across with their lone tally. Deffenbaugh reached base all three times she batted, walking twice and joining Kleemeyer and Skyler Olson as the only players to record singles off Wheeler, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth and struck out eight for her 18th win of the year. The Lady Blazers also loaded the sacks in the sixth but couldn’t score.
NWAC South MVP Brooks struggled early, allowing the first six Lower Columbia betters to reach base as Alyssa Gustafson keyed a four-run first for the Red Devils by drilling a three-run homer to straightaway center field. Adna grads Shanay Dotson and Cheyenne Gilbertson combined for four hits, two runs and two RBIs while Morton-White Pass product Christine Robbins’ pinch single in the sixth drove in the game-ending run. Brooks absorbed to loss for Centralia to fall to 13-9 on the season.
