Kamy Dacus was near-perfect on Thursday, and the Bearcats were cruised at the plate to stay undefeated.
Dacus retired the first 19 Shelton batters she faced, which included 14 strikeouts. Donyka Squire then hit a one-out homer in the seventh, and Dacus coaxed ground balls back to herself on the final two batters to end the game.
“She loves the heat and she just looked like things were firing on all cylinders today,” W.F. West coach Caty Lieseke said. “We ask a lot of her every day, and she definitely brought her A-game today.”
Dacus was also solid at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Saige Brindle went 2 for 4 with a double and drove in three runs, Savannah Hawkins went 2 for 3 and knocked in two runs, and Brielle Etter was 2 for 4.
The Bearcats scored three runs in each of the first two innings to take a 6-0 lead. Brindle, Clara Bunker and Alisha Anderson all hit RBI singles in the first frame, and Brindle hit a two-out, two-run double in the second frame, then scored on Hawkins’ RBI single.
“It felt like, up and down the lineup, some people made adjustments between at-bats, and were doing some really good work,” Lieseke said.
W.F. West (7-0) plays at Rochester on Friday.
Rochester easily cruised to an 11-1 victory over Black Hills at home Thursday to extend its win streak to six games.
Junior Sadie Knutson and junior Lakota Escott combined to strike out nine batters and allow just two hits for the Warriors in the circle. Knutson fanned seven of those, surrendering just one hit and one walk.
Junior Callie Crawford led the offensive assault, belting a two-run home run and finishing with an RBI and a double. Senior Kiyah Kennedy added a two-run double, while sophomore Emma Wiss contributed an RBI and a double and senior Maddie Bates added an RBI. Senior Sam Moceri, sophomore RaeLynne Berry and sophomore Roisin Stull each had hits, as well.
The Warriors improve to 7-1 and face rival W.F. West in a rematch showdown of the March 31 game where the Warriors fell, 1-0. Rochester has not lost since that game. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Grace Pancake hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh inning, helping Napavine rally from a three-run deficit at home to beat Raymond 14-13 in a non-league 2B softball game Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers (4-4, 3-4 Central 2B League) led 10-5 after six innings, behind Cailyn Milton’s solid pitching performance. Milton struck out six and walked two with five hits and five earned runs, with the defense commiting just one error behind her.
Raymond, however, took advantage of four errors in the top of the seventh inning to score eight runs and take a 13-10 lead. That set up a final half-inning in which the Tiger bats produced a double, a double, a triple, a single, and then Pancake — an eighth-grader — doubled to score Natalya Marcial for the win.
“I was really proud of the girls for battling there at the end,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said. “We send up six and have five hits and plate four runs — that’s a pretty good way to end it.”
Tanner Simpson went 4 for 5 and drove in four runs, while Dani Tupuola was 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a pair of runs.
“It was a good game,” Fay said. “More importantly, in our last 14 innings, here and (at Rainier Wednesday), we’ve played 12 really good innings of fastpitch, so that’s a positive for us.”
Napavine hosts Adna on Saturday.
The Pirates pushed across four runs in the sixth inning on Thursday to break open a tight game, then held on for an 8-4 win over the Bulldogs in Montesano.
The non-league matchup featured two of the most successful 1A and 2B softball programs in the state; Montesano won 1A championships in 2019, 2017 and 2015 and took second in 2016, while Adna won 2B titles in 2019 and 2015, and took second in 2016. The Pirates have placed top-five each of the past five seasons.
On Thursday, though, Adna’s bats were too much for Montesano to overcome in a contest between undefeated teams.
Karlee Von Moos went 3 for 4 with a homer and a double, Brooklyn Loose was 3 for 3 with a triple and an RBI, and Emma Eko and Danika Hallom were both 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Hallom’s line included a double.
Hailey Rainey worked all seven innings to get the win, striking out eight and walking one but allowing just one earned run.
Adna led 4-3 going into the top of the sixth inning, which started with a double from Von Moos. Natalie Loose drove her home with a ground ball, Brooklyn Loose and Hallom both hit RBI singles, and one more run scored on an outfield error.
Jessica Stanfield went 2 for 4 with a homer for Montesano (7-1).
Adna (10-0) plays at Napavine on Saturday.
