Montesano and Hoquiam each advanced to the state semifinals with victories at the 1A State Softball Tournament on Friday at the Columbia Playfields in Richland.
1A State Softball Tournament
Quarterfinals
Hoquiam 7, Deer Park 4
For the better part of five innings, Hoquiam appeared to be headed for a second-straight disappointing loss.
One swing of Ella Folkers’ bat changed all that.
Folkers’ no-doubt grand slam home run in the bottom of the sixth propelled the Grizzlies to a come-from-behind 7-4 victory over No. 6 Deer Park in the 1A State quarterfinals on Friday.
Hoquiam (17-4 overall) trailed 2-0 in the third until shortstop Graci Bonney-Spradlin – on board with a leadoff double – came in to score on a one-out fielder’s choice ground out by senior pitcher Carron Blood.
Hoquiam tied the game on a Folkers triple to score Chloey Deitrick in the bottom of the fifth followed by a Blood triple to drive in Folkers for a 3-2 lead.
But the advantage was short-lived as the Stags (17-5) rallied with a two-out RBI single by Delaney Newman to tie the game a 3-3.
Two batters later and facing a full count, Genasea Westman sent a sharp liner off of Blood’s glove toward Bonney-Spradlin at short. Bonney-Spradlin’s throw to first was late, allowing Newman to score the go-ahead run from third base.
But rather than hang their heads over another spoiled lead, Hoquiam responded by doing what they do best – mash the ball.
The Grizzlies loaded the bases on two base hits and a walk before a Bonney-Spradlin ground ball led to an out at home.
With the sacks still full and two outs, Folkers – one of the few Grizzlies not known for her pop – blasted Paige Hamilton’s first pitch over the right-center field fence for the first home run of her prep career in the biggest moment of the season to date, clearing the bases to put Hoquiam up 7-4.
Folkers’ blast energized the Grizzlies, including Blood, who worked around a two-on-one-out situation to get the final two outs in the seventh and send Hoquiam into the semifinals.
Blood earned the complete-game victory, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and six walks with 12 strikeouts.
Folkers, Blood and Deitrick had two hits apiece for a Grizzlies team that had five extra-base hits in the game.
Third-seed Hoquiam faces No. 2 Royal in the state semifinals at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Deer Park 110 002 0 – 4 8 2
Hoquiam 001 024 x – 7 8 1
WP: Blood (7 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 6 BB, 12 K). LP: Hamilton (6 IP, 7 R, 7 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, K).
Leading hitters: Deer Park – Krantz (2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI); Hamilton (2-4, RBI); Westman (1-3, R, RBI); Dryden (1-4); Weaver (1-2); Newman (1-2, R, RBI). Hoquiam – Folkers (2-4, GS HR, 2 R, 5 RBI); Blood (2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI); Deitrick (2-3, 2 R); Bonney-Spradlin (1-4, 2B, 2 R).
Montesano 13, Cashmere 3
Montesano appears to be peaking at the right time after a convincing 13-3 mercy-rule victory over No. 8 Cashmere in a state-quarterfinal game on Friday.
Monte (20-5) trailed 3-0 after a bases-loaded walk and two-run double by Dina Schoengarth in the bottom of the first inning.
But Montesano responded with a five-run bottom of the first, highlighted by RBI singles from Kaila Hatton, and Carsyn Wintrip.
Monte’s Alexa Stanfield scored on a wild pitch in the second and took control of the game with four runs in the third, bolstered by catcher Ali Parkin’s run-scoring double and capped by Addi Kersker’s RBI single to score Stanfield, giving Monte a 10-3 lead.
Kylee Wisdom led off the fourth with a solo home run and Monte completed the walk-off, mercy-rule win when Kersker tripled to score Stanfield and Addisyn Meservey in the fifth.
Riley Timmons earned the win in the circle, allowing three unearned runs on two hits, four walks and nine strikeouts in 4 1-3 innings pitched.
Grace Gooding threw 2-3 innings of scoreless, hitless relief for Montesano.
Kersker (2-2, 3B, R, 3 RBI) and Wintrip (2-3, R, RBI) had multi-hit games for a Montesano offense that had 10 hits – four for extra bases – and drew 10 walks off Cashmere pitching.
Top-seeded Montesano takes on No. 4 Blaine in the state semifinals at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Cashmere 300 00 – 3 2 2
Montesano 514 12 – 13 10 1
WP: Timmons (4.1 IP, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 9 K). LP: Reeder (2.1 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 6 H, 8 BB).
Leading hitters: Cashmere – Schoengarth (1-2, 2B, 2 RBI); Gonzales (1-2, 2B, R). Montesano – Parkin (2-3, 3B, 2B, RBI); Kersker (2-2, 3B, R, 3 RBI); Wintrip (2-3, R, RBI); Wisdom (1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI); Hatton (1-1, 2 RBI); Karr (0-2, 2 R, RBI).
Other scores
Opening round
No. 6 Deer Park 9, No. 11 Bellevue Christian 6 (Bellevue Chr. eliminated)
No. 10 Lynden Christian 13, No. 7 Columbia-White Salmon 0 (CWS eliminated)
No. 5 Riverside 11, No. 12 Kiona Benton 5 (Kiona Benton eliminated)
No. 8 Cashmere 22, No. 9 Naches Valley 4 (Naches Valley eliminated)
Quarterfinals
No. 2 Royal 5, No. 10 Lynden Christian 2
No. 4 Blaine 3, No. 5 Riverside 1
Elimination games
No. 6 Deer Park 21, No. 10 Lynden Christian 6 (Lynden Chr. eliminated)
No. 5 Riverside 13, No. 8 Cashmere 6 (Cashmere eliminated)
Saturday’s games (9 a.m.)
Semifinals
No. 3 Hoquiam vs. No. 2 Royal
No. 4 Blaine vs. No. 1 Montesano
