SELAH — W.F. West’s Kamy Dacus struck out 12 batters and let the Bearcat bats do the rest in a 5-2 win over East Valley in a State 2A softball tournament quarterfinal game here on Friday.
The Bearcats will take on Ridgefield at 10 a.m. in the state semifinals on Saturday.
“It was two very different games. Today has felt like two different days already. We feel great,” W.F. West coach Caty Lieseke said. “When we draw it out and talk about our goals for the whole season, this is exactly where we want to be. We’ve been talking about it since February 25. We’re pumped to be here and excited to see what we can do tomorrow.”
At the plate, Annika Waring was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and Paytton Crawford added a hit, a run and a RBI. Paetynn Lopez added a walk, a hit-by-pitch and a run and Ashlyn Whalen scored two runs for the Bearcats.
“I loved the way the girls came ready to swing the bats. They really had good approaches, even in the second game,” Lieseke said. “We had some well hit balls that we just got under. You can’t ask for more from the kids.”
W.F. West gained the lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Waring. After Jasmine Gallea drove in Paytton Crawford in the top of the fourth inning, East Valley’s Matnavia Reid answered with a two-run home run to tie the game.
The Bearcats didn’t allow the game to stay tied long, as Waring hit an RBI double and Crawford grounded out to bring home Lopez for a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Gallea hit a single and McKenna Brinson courtesy ran for Gallea and was able to score on an error by East Valley for the final tally of the game.
“Kamy (Dacus) has brought some intensity today that we haven’t seen yet this season and I love it,” Lieseke said. “I love seeing where she can go and how she performs in tournament style ball instead of just game by game ball. The defense is backing her up well and everyone is taking care of their jobs.”
Ridgefield won 6-0 over Ephrata in the quarterfinals, setting up another semifinal matchup between the Spudders and Bearcats. Ridgefield won 6-5 last Thursday in Longview in the district semifinals.
W.F. West’s Taylor Barker made a diving catch in the first inning, but didn’t get back up and was taken off on a stretcher by an ambulance.
“They’re saying ‘Play for Tay’ the whole game,” Lieseke said. “That kid went all out all season and we don’t know what the outcome is yet but that’s our goal, play for Tay and see what we can do.”
First Round: Bearcats Beat Up Roughriders
SELAH — The Bearcats collected 17 hits to cruise to a 19-2 win in four innings against Port Angeles in a State 2A softball tournament first-round game here on Friday.
Kamy Dacus pitched a complete game for the Bearcats, striking out six batters. She helped her own cause at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, four RBI and two runs.
Ava Fugate was 3-for-3 with a triple, a home run and four runs and Paetynn Lopez was 3-for-4 with a double, home run, four RBI and three runs.
Annika Waring was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run and Taylor Barker was 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs.
The Bearcats sandwiched one run in the second inning with three runs in the first and third innings for a 7-1 lead after three. W.F. West scored 12 runs in the fourth inning to end the game early.
The win advanced the Bearcats to the quarterfinals against East Valley.
