‘Little things’ cost Adna in state title game loss to Freeman

YAKIMA — Over the last handful of years, regardless of how the regular season or district tournament played out, two constants remained true.

The Adna Pirates saved their best softball for Yakima, and they almost always found a way to win.

So it wasn’t a surprise when Adna rallied from behind three runs in the seventh to take the lead over Freeman in the state title game on Saturday.

“I was proud as hell of how we fought back,” Adna coach Bruce Pocklington said. “But we didn’t close the door.”

Freeman put together a rally of its own, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk-off Adna 12-11 in the 2B State Championship Game.

It’s the first time since 2022 that a team other than Adna has won the state title, and it’s just the third time since 2002 that a team outside of District 4 has won it all, according to the WIAA’s State Tournament Program.

“It’s disappointing,” Pocklington said. “The last two weeks, we haven’t done the little things. And today we didn’t do the little things. Didn’t catch the fly ball, didn’t throw to the right base. Made some kicks again. Those little things add up to big things, and it’s a big trophy versus a little trophy.”

The seventh-inning rally was the second time that the Pirates overcame a deficit in the title game, as Freeman raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings thanks to a three-run home run from Kaylee Ripke in the first and a two-run single from Sofia Wasley in the second.

Tieander Olson got the Pirates on the board with an RBI double in the third, Jaxsyn Lowery got them within two with a two-run double in the fourth, and a wild pitch and Freeman error later in the inning brought home the tying runs.

Over the next couple of innings, the game shifted into a pitcher’s duel. Adna’s Charlie Myers and Ripke traded zeroes in the circle, and the game remained tied at five heading into the bottom of the sixth.

A missed fly ball and an error led to a little league home run that put Freeman on top, and the Scotties added on with a two-run single later in the frame to take an 8-5 lead.

Olson, Alyssa Carroll, and Myers singled to get the Pirates within two, and they tied the game when two runs scored on a Freeman error. Lowery hit an RBI single to put Adna in front, and Hadleigh Gerard followed with a two-run single for some insurance.

“At the beginning of the seventh, I’m thinking ‘boy oh boy, we’re sitting in a bad spot,’” Pocklington said. “But we talked about ‘Hey, we’ve been down worse than this. We need six, seven, eight guys to give me quality at-bats.’ And they did.”

Then, another little thing bit Adna.

After a line out to open the bottom of the seventh, Freeman’s Cierra Hayek hit a ground ball. Hayek should have been the second out of the inning, but instead, she reached on an Adna error, giving the Scotties the spark they needed.

After two singles, a sacrifice fly, and a walk, Wasley stepped to the plate with the tying and potential winning run on base. She didn’t get all of Myers’ 0-1 pitch, but she got just enough to sneak it just past first base and down the right field line for the two runs to score.

The Scotties rushed the field to celebrate, and they lifted the state championship trophy one year after watching the Pirates do the same across the field from them.

For the first time in four years, Adna walked off the field without the golden glove.

“It just wasn’t the good softball that we practiced every day the last couple of weeks,” Pocklington said.

Olson finished the title game with four hits and drove in two runs, while Lowery added two hits and three RBIs of her own. Gerard and Khloe Hunt both added two RBIs, and Myers helped herself with two hits and an RBI.

Pocklington was partially dismayed about the loss, but he also was proud of how his group rallied after a sub-par district tournament last week and an iffy showing in a quarterfinal win over River View in Yakima on Friday.

“If you would have told me we would have been in this game late like this two weeks ago, I would have laughed at you,” Pocklington said. “But they had a way of playing together … Our first game over here always is a little slow with nerves and stuff. Then we get going, and it’s a fun thing. They have a good time, and they play for each other. It’s expected.”

After the game, Pocklington took a moment with Lena McCloskey, his lone senior. McCloskey was all over the field defensively in the semifinal victory over Toledo, as she recorded seven putouts in the win.

“She just started tracking stuff down late in the season and saved our bacon all over the place," Pocklington said. “Quality outfielders are gonna make that catch. And she did it … She improved immensely this year.”

In the semifinal victory, Presley Strodmeier collected three hits and drove in two runs, Myers added two hits and two RBIs, and Olson chipped in two hits and an RBI of her own. Gerard went 3 for 4 with a walk and scored twice, and Hunt drove in a run and reached base twice.

Everyone besides McCloskey is expected back in 2027, when the Pirates will retake the field looking to make it back to the title game for the seventh state tournament in a row.

“We need to spend more time in the cages,” Pocklington said. “We need to lift weights and get stronger and faster.”

And work on the little things.