Paced by Ella Ferguson’s day in the circle and at the plate, the Tumwater softball team broke W.F. West’s improbable league winning streak, 3-1, at home Tuesday evening.
It’s the first time the Bearcats have dropped a league contest in nearly three years, with the last loss coming against the Thunderbirds on April 26, 2019. W.F. West ran unbeaten through the league gauntlet over the spring, going 16-0 in the COVID-shortened season, and didn’t play due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in March of 2020.
The T-Birds scored their first run in the bottom of the first inning, after Aly Waltermeyer got on base thanks to a double, and a wild pitch from Kamy Dacus sent her home from third.
Then in the fourth, Tumwater tripled its lead after back-to-back singles from Megan Paull and Jaime Haase got two on base, and Ferguson sent a fly ball to center field that scored the pair on another single.
All the while, Ferguson dominated in the circle, striking out 15 of the 28 batters she faced, allowing just one run, and walking two batters in a winning effort. Dacus countered for W.F. West with three runs, all earned, four strikeouts, and no walks over six innings pitched.
Savannah Hawkins knocked in the Bearcats’ lone run in the sixth inning, going 2 for 2 on the day, but it wasn’t enough in a close defeat.
The Bearcats will look to rebound against 3A Kelso on Wednesday while the Thunderbirds take on Rochester at 4:30 p.m.
