Three of the five teams out of District 4 will play in the semifinals of the 2B state softball tournament on Saturday morning.
Top-seeded Adna beat Forks, 10-5, in one quarterfinal, while No. 10 Rainier hammered No. 2 Warden 16-2 in another. Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, the No. 3 seed, shut out Toledo in the quarterfinals, while No. 5 Colfax powered past No. 4 Lake Roosevelt 14-8.
Rainier takes on PWV at 10 a.m. on Saturday, while Adna faces Colfax at the same time. The winners meet at 2 p.m. in the state championship game.
Toledo plays Warden in a loser-out game, also at 10 a.m.
Pirates Hold Off Forks 10-5
Adna got off to a slow start in its state tournament opener, but scored six runs in the sixth inning to take its first lead of the game and held on for a 10-5 win.
Top-seeded Adna (20-2) moves on to face Colfax at 10 a.m. in the state semifinals.
Forks scored four runs in the second inning and led 4-0, but freshman Ava Simms took over in the circle for Adna in the third inning and allowed just one hit — with 10 strikeouts and no walks — the rest of the way to record the win.
Danika Hallom and Brooklyn Loose both homered for Adna. Hallom finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs, while Loose went 2 for 4 with three RBIs.
Karlee VonMoos was 2 for 4, Gracie Beaulieu was 3 for 4 and Simms went 2 for 2 with a double.
Forks, the No. 8 seed, drops into a loser-out matchup Saturday morning against Forks.
PWV Blanks Toledo to Reach Semifinals
The Titans’ second matchup with Toledo in just over a week was a bit more convincing than the first.
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley pitcher Olivia Matlock shut out Toledo in a five-inning, 10-0 win, striking out seven and scattering five hits without issuing a walk to lead the Titans into the semifinals of the 2B state softball tournament on Friday in Yakima.
The Titans had beaten Toledo in the quarterfinals of the District 4 tournament on Friday, March 20, by a 7-4 margin, though the game was tied midway through.
Friday’s state quarterfinal didn’t follow the same script, as PWV led 3-0 after two innings and scored six runs in the fourth to put things away.
Matlock helped her own cause at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a home run, a double and four RBIs. Grace Huber added a 3-for-3 performance with a double and an RBI, and Payton Peterson doubled and drove in a run.
The Titans (18-4) had 10 hits in the win. Greenlee Clark went 2 for 3 to lead Toledo, which faces Warden at 10 a.m. on Saturday in a loser-out game.
PWV takes on Rainier in the state semifinals at 10 a.m.
Rainier Blasts Warden in State Quarterfinals
Warden entered the state tournament with the No. 2 seed, a first-round bye and a 22-1 record.
It had not, however, faced a District 4 softball team all season — and Friday’s 2B quarterfinal matchup in Yakima proved just how important that level of competition can be.
The No. 10 seed Mountaineers dismantled Warden, 16-2, in six innings to advance to the state semifinals Saturday morning, where they’ll take on Pe Ell-Willapa Valley at 10 a.m.
Azlyn Taylor hit for the cycle, with a grand slam and seven RBIs, and the Mountaineers scored 15 runs in the fourth and sixth innings to pull away late.
Olivia Earsley was 2 for 5 with a double and three RBIs, Alyssa Lofgren went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, Brooklynn Swenson went 2 for 5 with a triple and drove in a run, and Madison Mounts was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI.
Bailey Elwell pitched all six innings, striking out nine and walking just one batter.
Warden drops to the consolation bracket and will face Toledo at 10 a.m. Saturday morning.
