Saturday's 2B Softball: Pirates Win 2B State Softball Championship in Clash With Titans

YAKIMA — They were the two best teams in the Central 2B League and the Pacific 2B League all season. They were the two best teams in District 4 and they rolled into the state title game as the two best teams in the state.

Adna and Pe Ell-Willapa Valley met for a third and final time this season in the State 2B softball tournament championship game at Gateway Sports Complex here on Saturday. In an instant classic, Adna won the rubber match 9-7 to capture the state championship.

“Our team played with their heart today but so did PWV. It was just a knockout fight,” Adna coach Bruce Pocklington said. “We got them early, came back, it was a great championship game. Both teams are champions. I’m pretty excited, our girls played probably two of the best games we’ve played, last night (against Northwest Christian) and today against two really good teams.”

It is Adna’s first state title since 2015.

Haley Rainey pitched a complete game for the Pirates, allowing eight hits, six earned runs and three walks while striking out five batters. She was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI.

Olivia Rodriguez came up huge for the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with three doubles and four RBI and Keaton Dowell was 2-for-4 . Emma Eko was 3-for-5 with a double and a RBI and Skye Snow added a double, three runs and a RBI.

“It just feels so good. My freshman year, I saw the seniors and they were in this game and they lost and I was like, I don’t want to do that,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to win, a lot, so it feels good. It feels great because all the girls on the team feel like a family so it feels really good to do it with them.”

The state title may mean the most to Emily Sliva, going 1-for-4 for Adna with a double and a run. This time last year, she was sitting on the sidelines recovering from a life threatening injury.

On Saturday, she became a state champion.

“I’m so excited, junior year was rough watching and I was so excited to get back in and when I got to DH for the state tournament, I was super pumped,” Sliva said. “Super excited and I’m just so proud of my team for everything. We’ve been through so much and we’ve battled so hard to get here and I’m just so proud of everyone.”

The Titans were back in the state title game for the second time in three seasons.

PWV’s Katelyn McGough was 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and three runs and Kamryn Adkins added a hit and two RBI. Britney Patrick was 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs and four RBI.

“I’d say overall, I thought we played well. We fought hard, they’re a good hitting team, as we are. They hit the ball well today,” PWV coach Ken Olson said. “Overall defensively, it was a lot of great plays by them and we made a few too. It was a fun game to coach in, it’s kind of sour a little bit, quite a bit, but it’s OK. These kids, both teams worked their butts off today. I’m proud of my team, I’m proud of my coaching staff. We worked hard, our team worked hard and our coaches worked hard so what can you ask for? Not much more than that.”

Adna jumped ahead in the first inning. Emma Eko laid down a squeeze bunt to bring home a run and Rodriguez hit a double to bring home two more runs for a 3-0 lead. PWV also scored in the first on a sacrifice fly by Kamryn Adkins to bring home Katelyn McGough.

The Pirates tacked on three more runs in the second inning. Sliva hit a double followed by Eko with another double to bring home Sliva. Rainey hit a single to score Eko and Rodriguez hit her second double of the game for another run and a 6-1 lead.

The Titans would not go away though, as Kamryn Adkins knocked in McGough one more time followed by a two run home run by Patrick to cut the lead to 6-4. Adna tried to keep their distance with an RBI single by Ruby Bower and another RBI double by Rodriguez to lead 8-4.

“We believed it the whole time, that’s all you can do is believe in yourself,” Patrick said.

PWV answered once again, with Patrick knocking in two runs with a single followed by a double by Olivia Matlock to bring Patrick around to score and cut the Adna lead to 8-7 after five innings.

Rainey brought home one more run in the seventh for insurance and then got it done in the circle by retiring the Titans in order in the bottom of the seventh to claim the state title.

It was the final game for Adna’s Ruby Bower, Emily Sliva and Olivia Rodriguez, ending their careers as champions.

“It’s fun. I’ve had a lot of seconds and thirds, the trophy is where it needs to be,” Pocklington said. “I’m really happy for the girls. I tell them if they can play for me, they can play for anybody so I’m pretty hard on them but it pays off. We didn’t do it the easy way but it’s a great check off.”

Even in the loss, Olson was able to put the solid season in perspective.

“We ended up 22-5, that (Adna) would be the only 2B team we lost to, twice to them,” Olson said. “They’re just solid, but so are we and I’m never going to take anything away from our club.”

Morgan Coady, Kamryn Adkins, Grace Hodel and Ellie Little played their final game in a Titan uniform on Saturday, but the Titans are excited about next season.

“It’s going to be really rough. It’s hard because I’ve played with them for the last three years and I just love them all to death but we’re going to miss them a lot,” Patrick said. “I’m super pumped, I absolutely love the game so I can’t wait to come back and we’re going to have a great team next year too. I’m confident in that.”