ABERDEEN — The Aberdeen High School softball team clinched its first trip to districts in five years with a decisive 16-1 victory over Centralia on Tuesday.
The Bobcats surrendered a run in the first inning but quickly made up for it with a string of hits in the bottom of the first to take a lead they never relinquished.
Aberdeen got a big lift from both of their seniors, with Angel Jones and Reagan Glanz both knocking run-scoring singles as part of a nine-run first inning.
Of the nine runs the Bobcats scored in the first inning, four came before Centralia recorded an out.
A rally that was primarily comprised of walks, errors and singles helped bury Centralia early in an inning where the Bobcat’s only extra-base hit was a triple from Kacie Powell, who led the team with 6 RBI.
The outpouring of runs for the Bobcats continued as they added a five-spot in the second inning to push the lead to 14-1.
With the game well in hand, the Bobcats seniors weren’t done contributing in their last regular season home game. Glanz hit a homer in the second and Jones followed it up with a triple in a rally that brought the mercy rule into play after three innings.
Glanz, who was a diving catch away from a 4-for-4 afternoon, ended the day with five RBI and said launching a home run in her final regular-season home game felt good.
“I haven’t been hitting well the last few games so it felt good to come though with a homer. I went 3-4 but I got robbed on that line drive in the fourth at bat so I kind of went 4-4,” the senior catcher said with a chuckle.
The game was called after three innings but a misunderstanding of the rules almost caused the game to go longer. Umpires were not aware that the 15-run mercy rule was in effect for the 2A Evergreen League until Aberdeen athletic director Aaron Roiko confirmed with a league official that the teams wouldn’t need to play a fourth inning.
Aberdeen had to delay its celebration for a bit while the confusion was sorted out but that didn’t stop Bobcats head coach Scott Wilson from enjoying how his team performed.
“We came out on fire. Our girls were swinging the bat hard, finding holes and our kids were ready to play today,” he said. “We came in wanting to play loose, have fun and do what we know how to do.”
The Bobcats and its coaching staff await their next opponent, which will be determined once the teams in the Greater St. Helens League play out their season.
Wilson said he hasn’t had a chance to scout any of the probable opponents and generally doesn’t put a huge priority on learning the strengths of the opposition. For him, it’s more important that his team plays at the top of its game.
“It’s kind of a weird thing to do as a coach but I don’t do a whole lot of scouting. What they bring is what they bring and what we bring is what we bring.” he said. “We have to go out and play our game to compete with anybody. It’s up to us.”
Aberdeen will play one more regular season game against Rochester on the road at 4:40 p.m. today before the start of the district tournament on May 15.
Centralia 100 — 1 2 3
Aberdeen 952 — 16 14 2
WP — McDaniel (4 K, 2 BB, 2 H); LP — Duffy (6 ER, 3 BB)
Leading Hitters: A – Glanz (3-4, HR, 5 RBI), Jones (2-3, 3B, RBI), Powell (6 RBI, 2B, 3B)
