RICHLAND — Avoiding the early disaster that befell their east county rivals, Elma’s young Eagles find themselves two wins away from their second state softball championship.
Quin Mikel allowed one run and struck out 14 in 11-2/3 innings as the Eagles earned a semifinal berth by downing Cascade (Leavenworth), 15-3, and Cle Elum-Roslyn, 3-1, on the opening day of the 1A State Softball Championship Tournament Friday in Richland.
Pre-tournament favorite Montesano, however, saw its dreams of a second-successive state title end early. The Bulldogs were stunned by Chewelah, 7-5, in eight innings in the opening round Friday morning.
The Bulldogs stayed alive in the modified double-elimination tournament by taking out Kiona-Benton, 13-1, and Lynden Christian, 3-1.
A team without a senior on its roster, Elma (19-6 overall) will face Chewelah in a semifinal scheduled for 9 a.m. today.
The winner will face either Castle Rock or Lakeside for the state championship this afternoon.
Montesano, meanwhile, can place as high as third with two elimination-game wins to earn a state trophy. The Bulldogs (22-4) will take on Deer Park in a loser-out game at 11 a.m.
Elma 3, Cle Elum-Roslyn 1
Mikel finished with six scoreless innings and struck out nine in pitching Elma to the 1A State Championship semis.
Pitching and defense was the difference in this tense contest. While the Eagles were guilty of one harmless error, the Warriors committed four costly miscues, leading to two unearned runs.
Junior second baseman Chloe Velasco, who made a fine backhanded stop in the sixth inning, also excelled at the plate for the Eagles.
Her double into the right-centerfield gap in the fourth inning drove in Destry Dineen to snap a 1-1 tie and put Elma ahead for good.
Olivia Cain reached on an error in the Eagles’ seventh and scored an insurance run on Kassedy Olson’s infield ground out.
“We had a clutch hit and a clutch defensive play from Velasco, girls getting on base who aren’t always on base, and Quin pitched a fantastic game,” Elma coach Roger Elliot said. “She kept them off balance all game.”
Elma 15, Cascade 3
The Eagles betrayed their youth only in the first inning of their opening game.
Cascade sandwiched two hits around three walks in knocking out starter Dineen and taking an early 3-1 lead.
Mikel, however, quickly restored order, while Elma’s bats came alive with s six-run second inning and plated eight runs in the fourth.
Mikel drove in three runs with two hits. Olson, Dineen, Cain and Kali Rambo also contributed two hits apiece for the Eagles.
Chewelah 7, Montesano 5 (8 inn.)
A team cleary better than its low seeding (it was unbeaten entering district competition), Chewelah withstood a late Monte rally to send the Bulldogs into the loser’s bracket.
Down 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Bulldogs closed to within a run when Emma Jensen scored on Peyton Poler’s two-out infield single. Then Lindsay Pace unloaded a double to deep center to bring home Poler with the tying run.
The deadlock, however, was short lived. After a two-base error and wild pitch put a runner on third base, Chewelah’s Kennedy Robison faked a bunt and then lined a double over the left fielder’s head. Robison later scored on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs were unable to answer in their half of the eight. Maddie Ekerson beat out an infield hit to leadoff the inning, but failed to advance beyond first as the following three Bulldog hitters were retired to end the game.
Monte pitching ace Samantha Stanfield, was far off her customary form and was called for several illegal pitches, one of which brought in a run.
“Chewelah fought hard and we kind of mentally crumbled,” Monte coach Pat Pace said.
Ekerson was the lone Bulldog with two hits in the contest.
Montesano 13, Kiona-Benton 1
Lindsay Pace pitched a two-hitter and struck out 10 as Montesano eliminated Kiona-Benton in a consolation-bracket game.
Pace helped her own cause with three hits and three RBI.
Poler ignited the Monte offense with a two-run inside-the-park homer to left field in the first inning.
Montesano 3, Lynden Christian 1
Pace and Stanfield combined on a two-hitter as Monte eliminated Lynden Christian 3-1.
The Bulldogs spent much of the contest squandering scoring opportunities, but Ekerson’s two-run single in the fifth inning gave them what proved to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead.
Poler led the Bulldogs attack with three hits while Stanfield added a pair of singles.
Story by Rick Anderson
