TOLEDO — The motto of “Why not us?” was established in 2013 by the Seattle Seahawks. That stuck behind the emotional aspect of those three words and catapulted them to the first Super Bowl in team history.
Napavine’s softball team decided to borrow it to use through their own push towards championship glory. They made it to the Class 2B state tournament in Yakima last spring, but went 1-2 and didn’t play on the second day.
“Whenever we’re in a hole, we’re like ‘Hey, why not us?,’” senior Lyla Kirkpatrick said. “We’ve all put the work in, we all want it really bad. A lot of us, it is our last shot.”
Like the PNW’s product on the gridiron, the Tigers ran it back with the same cast of characters plus their motto and added some youth to the roster.
If a giant trophy is on the horizon, comebacks like Thursday afternoon could lead to one burning question:
Why not them?
Kirkpatrick delivered a game-sealing two-run triple in the top of the sixth to ignite a Napavine four-run rally and triumph over Toledo 12-10 in a C2BL thriller between two of the top-three teams in the league.
“They keep finding a way and it is always someone different,” Tigers head coach Josh Fay said. “Probably going to the all-league meeting and will have nine honorable mentions. There were times where it didn’t look good. I’m most proud of their resiliency.”
All that remains for Napavine (14-2, 5-1 C2BL) to grab a top-two seed in the District 4 tournament is a win over Rainier on Monday. It would be the second straight regular season that ended with a runner-up league placement.
For a group mixed with multi-sport veterans and newbies, the Tigers have found the formula to make another run to the Gateway Sports Complex.
“I think this is the best team we’ve ever had,” Kirkpatrick said. “All of us know that and all of us know we’re capable of going far. We want to leave a legacy.”
Kirkpatrick has been in the midst of a mini slump, held to just one multi-hit game this month. The Bellevue College recruit admitted the pressure of being a senior plus knowing she’s got a month left of softball in the orange and black has gotten to her.
She’s routinely been in the heart of Napavine’s order, but Fay moved her into the No. 7 spot on Thursday.
“A lot of people look at me and I put that pressure on my shoulders,” Kirkpatrick said. “Just play the game. What does this pitch (mean) is my idea and going to be my plan going forward.”
“Lyla puts a lot of pressure on herself and I was hoping moving her down would be alleviated a little bit,” Fay added. “When she is having fun, she’s a good ballplayer.”
What followed was a three-hit day and the go-ahead triple. It was tailing away from Toledo right fielder Audrey Cooper that was just fair to plate Briley and Clara Fay.
Tarynn Dalebout capped the four-run inning with an RBI single.
“Honestly, I thought that was my mis-hit,” Kirkpatrick said. “I’m going to get on base and see what happens.”
Dakota Lyons recorded a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth that featured a line out to Hayden Kaut at first. Then in the seventh, she left the tying run at the plate.
The sophomore pitched all seven frames despite giving up 16 hits.
“She did a good job hitting spots, especially late,” Coach Fay said. “Made kids hit our pitch.”
It was a 2-2 game after one complete inning and the back-and-forth tussle, eerily similar to the non-league contest, was only beginning.
Toledo (12-4, 4-2) grabbed the lead in the third thanks to a solo home run from leadoff hitter Taysia Miller and three consecutive two out RBI knocks by Zaya Norberg, Peyton Holter and Cooper. Three more crossed home in the fourth on a single, error and ground out.
Like they have multiple times this season, the Tigers were far from dead.
Paytin Wheeler and Dalebout recorded back-to-back RBI base hits and a fielder’s choice made it 9-8. Clara Fay tied it with a sharp hit on the infield that set up Kirkpatrick’s heroics.
“I am really proud of this team (for) the drive we have to win,” Kirkpatrick said.
The Riverhawks last ditch effort started with Cooper’s double and she scored on a groundout. They have dropped two straight league matchups in the span of five days. Xtyn Norberg led the lineup with four hits while Zaya Norberg drove in three runs. Up next is their penultimate league game on Monday versus Toutle Lake.
“We played well enough to beat some teams and not well enough to beat Napavine today,” Riverhawks head coach Jeff Davis said. “We never quit and I am proud of our girls for that.”
Napavine timed up the two arms of Holter and Carver routinely and were patient, drawing six walks, including the first three batters of the game. Coach Fay has constantly preached good approaches and felt like Thursday was a step in the right direction.
“We’re not chasing, we’re not guessing,” he said.
Still, Napavine is fully aware it’ll have to likely go through Toledo, Adna and PWV again in two weeks at Fort Borst Park. Such is life as a D4 program that plays on a diamond.
“We competed with Adna for five innings and let us know what we’re capable of,” Kirkpatrick said.
