Ocosta’s Jessie Gilbert threw two no-hitters en route to leading the Wildcats to the district-championship game and a berth in the state tournament after a superstar performance in the 2B District Tournament on Wednesday at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
2B District 4 Semifinal
Ocosta 2, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 0
The road to the 2B District championship has run through one of two teams for the better part of the past decade – the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans and the Adna Pirates.
Led by another buzzworthy performance by pitcher Jessie Gilbert, the Ocosta Wildcats checked one of those teams off the list, beating PWV 2-0 in the district semis to advance to the title game and earn a berth in the state tournament.
Gilbert tossed her second no-hitter of the day and third in as many games, mowing down Titan after Titan in another head-turning exhibition of pitching dominance.
The sophomore right-hander held the defending state-champions to no hits and just two walks while striking out 19 in seven innings.
Similar to her seven-inning, no-hit performance in a 1-0 win over Onalaska in the first round of the tournament on Monday, Gilbert had to wait for the offense to score some runs.
PWV starter Lauren Emery held the Wildcats off the scoreboard for five innings before running into trouble in the bottom of the sixth.
Brynn Rasmus led off the frame with a single and – after a Zaida Morales fly out – advanced to third on a double by Jolissa Schlegel.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Ocosta’s Gabby Ness ropes a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning for the game’s only runs in a 2-0 win over Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in the 2B District 4 semifinals on Wednesday in Centralia.
Ocosta outfielder Gabby Ness stepped to the dish and laced a double to left field, driving in both Rasmus and Schlegel for the 2-0 lead.
That was plenty of Gilbert, who worked around a one out walk to Grace Huber in the seventh, striking out the side to record her third-straight no-hitter and punch the Wildcats’ ticket to the state tournament.
“I told my team, ‘No one is scoring. This is our game. We deserve it,’ and we did it,” Gilbert said of her mindset entering the seventh. “Since seventh grade, I’ve always wanted to go (to state). I was practicing with the older girls and I tried to be like them. … That has been my goal and it’s happened.”
Emery pitched well in the loss, allowing two earned runs on four hits with three walks and nine strikeouts in six innings of work for the young Titans (15-6).
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Ocosta’s Jolissa Schlegel scores a run while Pe Ell-Willapa Valley catcher Payton Peterson defends during the Wildcats’ 2-0 win in the 2B District 4 semifinals on Wednesday in Centralia.
Ocosta (18-4) advances to face defending district-champion and state-title favorite Adna, which looked impressive in picking up two 9-1 victories on Wednesday to advance to the title game.
The matchup of Gilbert throwing against one of the top offenses in the state qualifies as “must-see TV” for local softball fans.
“I expect a really good, hard game,” Gilbert said. “If we come out and have our bats awake, I think we can do it.”
The Wildcats will face the Pirates (20-2) at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
PWV 000 000 0 – 0 0 3
Ocosta 000 002 x – 2 4 1
WP: Gilbert (7 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 19 K). LP: Emery (6 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 9 K).
Leading hitters: PWV – Huber (0-2, BB); Lyons (0-1, BB). Ocosta – Ness (1-3, 2 RBI); J. Schlegel (1-3, 2B, R); Rasmus (1-3, R); Rosander (1-3).
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Raymond-South Bend first baseman Raydynn Morley connects on a pitch during a 7-2 victory over Rainier in a 2B District 4 Tournament elimination game on Wednesday in Centralia.
2B District 4 elimination game
Raymond-South Bend 7, Rainier 2
In the short time span of just a few months, the Raymond-South Bend combo softball program achieved more in its first year than the two schools had previously done on their own.
The Ravens offense smacked 13 hits, including seven doubles, while the defense was once again superb en route to a 7-2 win over Rainier in a 2B District 4 elimination game on Wednesday in Centralia.
RSB (12-10) advanced to the final day of the tournament for the first time after belting four doubles in the first inning. Shortstop Kyndal Koski led off with a double and – after a Berklee Morley pop out – scored on a double by outfielder Emma Glazier.
Catcher Ava Pine followed with an RBI double to make it a 2-1 game and advanced to third on a double by third baseman Kassie Koski.
RSB scored a run in the bottom of the second on an Avree Payne single, a Berklee Morley double and a bases-loaded walk by Pine.
First baseman Raydynn Morley led off the third with a double and raced home on a single from outfielder Avree Payne.
Leading 4-2 in the fourth, Pine drove in Berklee Morely for a run followed by an RBI fielder’s choice ground out by Kassie Koski.
Later in the frame, RSB courtesy runner Jordynn Sedy scored on a wild pitch to give the Ravens a 7-2 lead.
RSB pitcher Ashlee Payne and the vaunted Ravens defense did the rest, shutting out Rainier (16-6) over the final three innings to advance to Saturday’s consolation bracket.
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Raymond-South Bend pitcher Ashlee Payne cheers after the final out of the Ravens’ 7-2 win over Rainier in the 2B District 4 Tournament on Wednesday in Centralia.
“It means everything,” said one of the few RSB seniors on the team, Raydynn Morley. “To see the young girls accomplish what they are accomplishing at such a young age, as a team we’ve grown so much. Just to know that we bought in and had high energy today, it was all that I wanted and I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
“It means so much,” Ashlee Payne said of the victory. “It’s amazing to see how much we’ve all been able to connect with each other having never played together before. It’s absolutely amazing.”
Payne picked up the win, allowing two runs – one earned – on nine hits with four walks and three strikeouts over seven innings under the hot sun.
“(Effects from the heat) were getting quite obvious toward the end, but once I just pushed with my legs, it helped,” Payne said. “I think I drank four water bottles and we had those cooling rags so that saved me.”
The Ravens defense – one of the best in the tournament along with Adna – was on display once again in the pressure-packed elimination game.
RSB recorded two double plays in the game, with Raydynn Morley throwing over to Kassie Koski at third to erase an advancing runner after a put out at first in the third followed by Kassie Koski recording an unassisted double play to thwart a potential big inning in the fourth.
“I absolutely love my defense. … Just being there for them as they are for me,” Ashlee Payne said. “(RSB head coach) Dakota (Brooks) always says, ‘They got your back,’ and I totally believe that.”
“Our infield is sisters. … It’s almost a perfect situation because we have so much chemistry there,” Raydynn Morley said of the synergy between her and her sister, Berklee Morley at second and sisters Kyndal and Kassie Koski on the left side of the infield. :We talk before every play and our outfield is the same way. We always say to check in with the people around you and that really gets us far.”
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Raymond-South Bend infielders Kassie Koski, second from left, and Kyndal Koski (1) celebrate with their teammates after beating Rainier 7-2 to advance in the 2B District 4 Tournament on Wednesday in Centralia.
The Ravens will face league foe Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in a winner-to-state-loser-out elimination game scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Rainier 100 100 0 – 2 9 2
Raymond-South Bend 211 300 x – 7 13 2
WP: Ashlee Payne (7 IP, 2 R, ER, 9 H, 4 BB, 3 K). LP: Cruse (6 IP, 7 R, 5 ER, 13 H, 2 BB, 2 K).
Leading hitters: Rainier – Earsley (2-3); Mounts (2-4, R); Lofgren (2-4, R); Anderson (2-4, RBI); Ferguson (1-3). RSB – Kyndal Koski (2-4, 2 2B, R); B. Morley (2-4, R); Pine (2-3, 2 2B, 3 RBI); Glazier (1-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI); Kassie Koski (1-4, RBI); R. Morley (1-2, 2B, R); Ashlee Payne (1-3, RBI); Swogger (1-3).
2B District 4 Tournament Quarterfinals
Ocosta 11, Toutle Lake 0
Oocsta’s Jessie Gilbert belted two home runs and threw a no-hitter as the Wildcats advanced to the district semis with an 11-0 six-inning win over Toutle Lake in a district-quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday in Centralia.
Gilbert allowed no runs or hits while walking three with 13 strikeouts for her second-consecutive no-hitter.
The sophomore right-hander also had a great game at the plate, belting a two-run home run in each of the fifth and sixth innings.
Ocosta recorded 15 hits in the game, led by third baseman Zaida Morales, whe was a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI.
Sophie Olive had three hits and was one of three Wildcats to hit a double in the game, along with Brynn Rasmus and Gabby Ness.
Ocosta 311 024 – 11 15 0
Toutle Lake 000 000 – 0 0 3
WP: Gilbert (6 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 BB, 13 K). LP: Smith (5 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, BB, K).
Leading hitters: Ocosta – Morales (4-4, 2 RBI); Olive (3-3, 2B, R, RBI); Gilbert (2-3, 2 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI); Rosander (2-4, 2 R, RBI); Rasmus (1-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Ness (1-3, 2B, R); J. Schlegel (1-3, R); Cuzdey (1-4, 2 R).
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Pe Ell-Willapa Valley’s Lauren Matlock hit a home run in a 13-5 victory over Toledo in a 2B District 4 Tournament game on Wednesday in Centralia.
Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 13, Toledo 5
They may be young, but the Pacific League-champion Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans showed they can still hit in a 13-5 win over Toledo in the 2B District 4 Tournament on Wednesday in Centralia.
Trailing 3-0, the Titans got on the board with a big two-run home run off the bat of Lauren Matlock.
PWV added five runs in the bottom of the third – highlighted by RBI singles from Rilyn Channell and Matlock – to take a 7-3 lead.
The Titans added six runs in the sixth capped by a run-scoring single from CJ Sipp to make it a 13-5 game.
PWV scored seven unearned runs on seven Toledo errors in the game.
Lauren Emery earned the win, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and three walks with eight strikouts in tossing a complete-game.
Toledo 300 011 0 – 5 8 7
PWV 025 006 x – 13 12 2
WP: Emery (7 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 K). LP: Marcil (6 IP, 13 R, 6 ER, 12 H, 2 BB, 4 K).
Leading hitters: Toledo – Larson (2-4, R, RBI); Davis (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI). PWV – Peterson (3-4, R); Matlock (2-5, HR, R, 4 RBI); Milanowski (2-4, 2B); Smaciarz (2-4, 2 R); Sipp (2-4, R, 3 RBI); Lyons (1-4, 2 R, RBI).
Adna 9, Raymond-South Bend 1
Raymond-South Bend stayed close with Adna before big inning led to the Ravens’ 9-1 loss in the 2B District 4 quarterfinals on Wednesday in Centralia.
The Ravens stuck with district-defending champs Adna for the better part of five innings before a five-run Pirate sixth put the game away.
RSB trailed 3-0 before scoring a run in the top of the third when outfielder Emma Glazier drove in Kyndal Koski with a two-out double.
Ravens starting pitcher Samantha Stigall held the state runner-up to four runs over the first five innings to keep RSB within striking distance, but a five-run Pirate sixth – highlighted by a three-run home run from Karlee Von Moss – made it a 9-1 game.
Glazier led the Ravens offense with a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate.
RSB 001 000 0 – 1 6 1
Adna 120 015 x – 9 14 1
WP: Simms (7 IP, R, 0 ER, 6 H, 14 K). LP: Stigall (6 IP, 9 R, 7 ER, 14 H, 6 BB, 2 K).
Leading hitters: RSB – Glazier (3-3, 2B, RBI); Kyn. Koski (1-4, 2B, R); Pine (1-3); Kas. Koski (1-3). Adna – Von Moos (3-3, HR, 2B, R, 4 RBI); Simms (3-4, RBI); Guard (3-4, R, RBI); Hallom (1-3, 3 R); Loose (1-3, 2B, R); K. Humphrey (1-4, R); La Fontaine (1-2, R, RBI); M. Humphrey (1-4, RBI).
RYAN SPARKS / THE DAILY WORLD Ocosta’s Samantha Schlegel (12) beats the throw to first during the Wildcats’ 2-0 win over Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in the 2B District 4 semifinals on Wednesday in Centralia. PWV first baseman Jillian Hodel defends on the play.
