Less than a week after getting shut out against an upstart Ocosta team in the 2B District 4 title game, and a year after falling in the 2B state title game in 2022, the Adna softball team got its redemption when it mattered most at the 2B state tournament in Yakima in 2023.
Led by All-Area MVP Karlee VonMoos, who was also an all-area selection in both soccer and basketball this season, and a Central 2B League MVP in each sport, the Pirates defeated Ocosta in the state semifinals — with VonMoos going 3 for 4 with a double and a triple — and then smacked Forks in the state title game to return to the 2B softball mountaintop.
Though VonMoos made state in each sport she played this school year, she hadn’t ended a season on a win until softball, and helped Adna to its first softball state chip since 2019, when she was helping to run bases as an eighth-grader.
“It feels really good to say we did it,” VonMoos said. “To actually get to do it and be a big part of it feels great. Emotions were running really high afterwards, it was just a great way to finish my senior year.”
VonMoos guided the Pirates at the plate all year as its 3-hole hitter, finishing the season with a .630 batting average, a 1.859 OPS, 10 home runs, 46 RBIs, 49 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases.
In three games at state, VonMoos went 10 for 14 with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, nine runs scored, and nine RBIs.
“It took a lot of sacrificed weekends,” VonMoos said. “Going to extra softball practices, tons of time in the batting cage and pitching, countless hours with my dad sitting on a bucket catching for me.”
Brooklyn Loose, her teammate since kindergarten and Central 2B League co-MVP, has witnessed VonMoos’ hard work since a young age. Both were on Adna’s last state championship team as eighth-graders, and Loose has seen VonMoos grow as both a player and a leader on the diamond over the years.
“It’s really special,” Loose said of her friend. “We’ve been best friends since kindergarten, and growing up playing tee-ball, we were best friends throughout and hung out every single day. Karlee brought not just skills but a lot of leadership. She was the best leader on our team, she got everyone to do what they were supposed to and she just brought a lot.”
VonMoos also operated as Adna’s second pitcher, behind another All-Area selection in Ava Simms, pitching 45 innings with 70 strikeouts and batters hitting just .165 against her.
The Adna senior — finishing her career with a state chip and two state trophies this season after a sixth-place finish in hoops — was an three-time All-Area selection this season, and made five All-Area teams in her high school career.
To go along with that, VonMoos finished as the C2BL’s back-to-back co-MVP in softball, and finished her career as one of Adna’s most decorated girls athletes in school history.
The senior will graduate and play next year at Lower Columbia Community College — along with teammate Brooklyn Loose — in both basketball and softball.
The Chronicle’s All-Area Softball Team
Hailey Brooks, Mossyrock
Possibly the most feared hitter in all of 1B softball, Mossyrock’s slugger — committed to play D-I ball at Cal State Bakersfield next spring — was walked in over third of her plate appearances. When she did get something to hit, she usually did, working up a .689 average with eight homers, nine triples, and seven doubles.
Makayla Chavez, Centralia
Centralia’s junior at shortstop hit an even .400, with 10 doubles, 15 runs scored, and 21 RBIs, helping lead the Tigers back to the state tournament for the first time since 2011 and earning first-team all-EvCo honors.
Layna Demers, Rochester
Rochester’s sophomore in the circle turned in yet another solid season, striking out 99 batters in 99 ⅔ innings. At the plate, she had all four Warriors’ home runs this season and drove 15 runs in.
Brielle Etter, W.F. West
Etter hit .418 this season with 21 RBIs and 32 runs scored, while also drawing a team-best 21 walks. Pairing up with Myers in the middle of the W.F. West infield, Etter was a stalwart at second base.
Ella Ferguson, Tumwater
Tumwater’s sophomore ace got all but eight outs for the Thunderbirds this season, throwing 141 ⅔ innings and piling up 240 strikeouts. Opposing batters managed just a .184 batting average against her, and she finished the season with a 1.83 ERA, earning 2A EvCo MVP honors for her efforts.
Lisa Liddell, Onalaska
The only Logger on the all-C2BL first team, Liddell announced herself as one of the best arms in the league as a sophomore, striking out 152 and only walking 30 batters in 14 games.
Brooklyn Loose, Adna
The other C2BL Co-MVP finished her Adna career with a bang, going 4 for 5 with her 10th home run of the season in the 2B state title win over Forks. That put the cap on a senior season that saw Loose rack up a .592 batting average and a 1.795 OPS, smacking nine doubles, driving in 37 runs, and scoring 53 more..
Lauren Matlock, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley’s leadoff hitter batted an even .500 with 12 doubles on the season, and ended her year with a bang, going 10 for 17 at the 2B state tournament with three of her four triples and two of her three home runs in four games.
Avalon Myers, W.F. West
W.F. West’s sophomore shortstop got hot as the spring wore on, hitting five of her team-high eight home runs after May 1. She also led the Bearcats with 43 hits, 40 RBIs, and 40 runs scored, hitting .506 on the season.
Quyn Norberg, Toledo
Norberg led the Riverhawks with a .772 slugging percentage, smacking nine doubles, four triples, and a pair of home runs in a season where she hit .481. She also drove 27 runs in and swiped 10 bases.
Payton Peterson, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley
One of two seniors on PWV’s roster, Peterson led the way from behind the dish with no errors, while also hitting .453 with six triples and 32 RBIs.
Ava Simms, Adna
Simms’ 48 RBIs led the Pirates, and she hit .534 with six home runs. But the sophomore shined brightest in the circle, pitching Adna to a state crown with a 14-1 record in the circle, 157 strikeouts, and a 1.42 ERA.
Brooklynn Swenson, Rainier
Swenson hit .541 with team highs in hits (40), doubles (11), triples (seven), and RBIs (40). She also bombed three homers to finish the season with a 1.575 OPS, earning first-teal all-C2BL honors.
Zoey Theophilus, Black Hills
One of two Black Hills players to make the all-EvCo first team, Theophilus struck out 131 batters in 110 ⅔ innings, while also hitting .500 with eight doubles, seven homers, and 33 RBIs in her senior season.
Judy Vallejo, Centralia
The senior all-EvCo first-teamer committed just one error all season managing the Tigers’ pitching staff, while also driving in 16 runs at the plate and managing at least one hit in every game of the postseason.
