The last time the Adna Pirates lost by double digits in the postseason, they fell short 11-0 in the 2B state championship game to Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in 2022. Bruce Pocklington’s squad, which proceeded to win the next two state championships after that loss, hadn’t felt anything close to that humiliation since.
Until Wednesday night.
After blowing past Onalaska 12-2 in the 2B District 4 quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon, top-seeded Adna stumbled out of the gates and never recovered in the semifinals against Raymond-South Bend, ultimately losing 10-0 in five innings.
In Pocklington’s words, “we didn’t show up.” The Pirates suffered their worst inning of the season in the first inning against RSB, giving the Ravens the first seven runs off of five defensive blunders, a dropped third strike that scored a run, and three walks by starting pitcher Avery Lafontaine.
“I don’t know if we didn’t prepare right before the game. We had five errors in the first inning. Anybody’s gonna score runs on five errors,” Pocklington said. “We’ve just gotta be ready.”
An Adna offense that had scored at least eight runs in 11 of its previous 12 games entering the district semis looked lifeless against the upstart Ravens. The Pirates left the leadoff runner stranded in four of the five innings. Only one runner reached third base and it wasn’t until the fifth inning.
“Our goal is to swing downward and hit the ball down or hit line drives. We hit a lot of fly balls today, and that doesn’t work, especially when you’re hitting right into the wind,” Pocklington said.
It’s true, as the Pirates only struck out twice; the Ravens defense took care of the rest.
After Lafontaine pitched six innings of two-run ball against Onalaska, she couldn’t do much to stop the bleeding against the Ravens. Pocklington was proud of the way his stalwart right-hander performed, especially after taking 42 pitches just to get through the first inning.
“I thought she did a good job. Again, seven errors behind her and we didn’t swing the bats. We didn’t give her a chance,” Pocklington said. “If she throws like that and we hit the ball and play defense, we’re right in the ballgame.”
Raymond-South Bend is a much different ballclub than the one Adna demolished 22-1 back on March 27 and the one the Pirates beat 8-1 in the district quarters last year. The Ravens are headed to state for the second time in three years and will face Pe Ell-Willapa Valley on Thursday for the district title. Adna will have to watch the district title game from the bleachers for the first time since 2018.
“They competed today, they had quality at-bats, they had a lot of energy, and they played defense. It was 22-1 [the last time]. That’s a 31-run turnaround. It’s terrible,” Pocklington said.
The Pirates (15-6, 7-1 C2BL) head to the consolation bracket to face sixth seed Rainier Thursday in a winner-to-state matchup. Adna disposed of the Mountaineers 13-2 in their lone matchup on April 24. With a win, the Pirates would be pitted against either Toledo or Napavine for third place.
Pocklington hopes his team will make the correct adjustments, both in skill and between the eyes, before Thursday’s games.
“It shouldn’t take me anything to get them ready. If they want to continue to play, it’s up to them,” he said.
