With a berth in the state tournament and district-title game on the line, the Hoquiam Grizzlies came up clutch.
Tied 2-2 late in the game, the Grizzlies scored four runs and pitcher Carron Blood shut down the second-ranked Castle Rock Rockets to advanced to punch their ticket to the state tournament at the 1A District 4 Tournament on Friday in Centralia.
Hoquiam (13-8) made quick work of its quarterfinal opponent, King’s Way Christian, by scoring 13 runs in just four innings to earn a 13-0 mercy-rule victory.
Leadoff hitter Graci Bonney-Spradlin was a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored and catcher Faith Prosch belted a home run in the game.
In the semifinals, Hoquiam faced the state’s second-ranked team in Castle Rock and fell behind 2-0 after the first inning as Grizzlies pitcher Carron Blood allowed three singles to the first four Castle Rock batters she faced.
But the junior right-hander settled in to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Blood got Hoquiam on the board in the top of the fourth inning, blasting a two-run, no-doubt home run to knot the game up at 2-2.
The game would remain locked in a tie as Blood and Castle Rock starter Payton Kessler held opposing offenses scoreless in what became a gem of a pitcher’s duel.
The game went into extra innings, where Hoquiam’s offensive pressure, and possibly the pressure of the moment, grounded the Rockets.
In the eighth, Bonney-Spradlin led off with a bloop base hit and — with Ella Folkers at the dish — advanced to second on a wild pick-off throw that scooted toward right field from Castle Rock catcher Jenna Lee.
Folkers then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to third baseman Raychel Squibb, who picked up the ball and made a running throw to first that was offline. Bonney-Spradlin, who never stopped running on the play, easily scored from second to give the Grizzlies the 3-2 lead.
With Folkers on first, Blood stepped to the dish and smacked a single up the middle. Folkers raced around to third while Blood took second on the throw.
Hoquiam cashed in on the very next batter when Prosch rocked a line-drive single to center fielder Gracie Sibbett, driving in two runs and advancing to third after the ball got by Sibbett and rolled toward the fence.
Ashlinn Cady drove in Prosch with a sacrifice fly to put the Grizzlies up 6-2.
Blood and the defense did the rest, holding Castle Rock scoreless in the bottom half of the eighth, with Blood catching a Sibbett short pop out to end the game, then jumping into the arms of first baseman Kayte Sauer as the Hoquiam celebration commenced.
“I was sweating so much,” Blood said of her mindset in the final frame while holding on to the game-ball she caught for the final out. “I did not want anyone to get on base or hit the ball. When (Sibbett) hit that pop fly, I was so confident I was going to catch it. I thought, ‘Yes! This is mine.’ And I called it so loud to make sure it was all mine. I was so happy and relieved I caught it.”
As she has done several times this season, Blood simply took over the game.
In addition to her two-run blast and base hit in the four-run eighth, the junior standout held the Trico League champs to two runs on seven hits while striking out six with just one walk in the game.
“The first thing I told myself was just to have fun,” Blood said of how she locked-in after the first inning. “I said to myself that it’s OK if they hit it. I just got to keep it in the park because that is where my teammates are to back me up. I just had to calm myself down, take a breather and just tell myself to pitch strikes and my teammates will back me up.”
With the victory, Hoquiam advances to the district title game against league-rival Eatonville at 4 p.m. today (Saturday, May 21) at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
The win also gives the Grizzlies a spot in next week’s state tournament.
“We are really excited we made it to state. That’s the No. 1 thing we always wanted to be in,” Blood said. “We got there. We are all happy and we get to compete for a district championship. We’re going to compete and try our hardest, like we did today.”
KWC 000 0 — 0 1 3
Hoquiam 324 3 — 13 9 1
Hoquiam — Bonney-Spradlin (4-4, 2B, 4R), Folkers (1-4, R), Blood (2-4, 3R), Prosch (1-3, HR, R), Cady (1-3, R), Sauer (1-3, R).
KWC —Nelson (1-2).
~~~
Hoquiam 000 200 04 — 6 8 1
Castle Rock 200 000 00 — 2 7 5
Hoquiam — Blood (2-4, HR, 2R, 3RBI), Folkers (2-4, 2R), Prosch (1-4, 2RBI), Cady (1-4, RBI), Bonney-Spradlin (1-4, R), Dhooghe (1-3). WP – Blood (8 IP, 2R, 2ER, 7H, 6K, BB).
CR — Sibbert (3-4, R), Kessler (1-4), Lee (1-4, 2B), Squibb (1-4), Logan (1-4). LP – Kessler (8 IP, 8H, 6R, 2ER, 10K).
Montesano, Elma advance through the elimination bracket
Both Montesano and Elma lost their first-round games on Friday, but advanced with a win in the elimination bracket in quite contrasting ways.
Montesano (10-13) dropped its quarterfinal matchup against Columbia-White Salmon 7-4 before throttling La Center 20-0 in the elimination bracket.
Elma lost 11-1 to Castle Rock in the first round and won via forfeit over King’s Way Christian in the elimination round as the Knights decided not to continue its season and left the tournament after its quarterfinal loss to Hoquiam.
Montesano will take on Castle Rock while Elma will face Columbia-White Salmon in the elimination semifinals. First pitch for both games it set for noon at Fort Borst Park.
No further information available for these games at the time of this writing.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam pitcher Carron Blood, right, belted a two-run home run in a 6-2 victory over Castle Rock in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Friday in Centralia.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam pitcher Carron Blood (16) leaps into the arms of first baseman Kayte Sauer after defeating Castle Rock 6-2 on Friday in Centralia, earning a spot in the district championship game and state tournament in the process.
