RICHLAND — After the first day of the Class 1A State Softball Tournament, Hoquiam and Montesano stand in each others way on the road to a state title.
The rivals each won two games on Friday to set up a fourth showdown between the perennial powers in the state semifinals at 9 a.m. today.
Montesano made quick work of Zillah in the first round, rolling to an 11-0 win in five innings, before the Bulldog offense came alive late to take care of Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls, 15-3.
Hoquiam found its offensive rhythm on Friday putting up a dozen runs in a 12-5 win over Deer Park and then batting its way to an 11-5 victory over Bellevue Christian.
Now, the winner of the matchup between the Grizzlies and Bulldogs will earn a spot in the state championship game later in the day, while the loser will move into the consolation side of the bracket to possibly play for third and fourth.
Bulldogs 15, Eagles 3
Montesano started a virtual hit parade in the first inning against Lakeside, but it took five innings before the Bulldogs were able to fully light up the scoreboard. The Bulldogs needed no time to get the offense going, with Samantha Stanfield singling to start the game followed doubles by Lindsay Pace, Allyssa Gustafson and Annie Cristelli all in the inning to put up four runs. Cheyann Bartlett would slide home on a wild pitch to score what would be the eventual game-winning run, but the Eagles put up plenty of fight.
Lakeside got one run back in the bottom of the first when a runner came around to score on a wild throw from the catcher on a pickoff move at second base. The Eagles weren’t done offensively, with Brie Frazier driving in two more runs in the second to cut the lead to 4-3 for the Bulldogs.
To spark the offense, Montesano head coach Pat Pace turned back to a page in the Montesano history books and went to the short game. After Bartlett was able to beat a throw for an infield hit to start off the fifth inning, the Bulldogs had four straight batters lay down a bunt with three of them reaching safely with a hit and one reaching on a error to tack on another four runs.
“The girls went up there being very aggressive, but after Lakeside scored their run, I felt like we went up there a little bit more tentative and that is why we went back to the short game because that is the one thing we know we can do well,” Pat Pace said. “We just took advantage of the miscues. I think we were tense and tight in those middle innings, but after we took the lead with our short game we were loose.”
However, while the Eagles were able to get four hits off Stanfield in the first two innings, the Bulldogs’ junior ace shut the door from there to allow just one more hit and record 10 strikeouts in the final five innings.
The Bulldogs offense continued to roll for two more runs in the sixth and another four runs in the seventh to secure their spot in the semifinal.
Grizzlies 11, Vikings 5
Hoquiam picked a perfect time to put together one of its best offensive efforts of the season. The Grizzlies had hits from eight different players, led by four hits by Maddie German. The freshman had two doubles to spark the Hoquiam offense.
“We hit the ball well today,” Hoquiam head coach Keith Reynvaan said. “Tonight, we hit the ball probably better than we have hit it all season long. (Bellevue Christian pitcher Hannah Hamilton) was getting behind in the count because we were patient and she had to come in on us.”
Bellevue Christian got on the scoreboard with a run in the first, but Hoquiam took back control in the second inning. Back-to-back singles by Maya Jump and German plated the first two runs and the Grizzlies never looked back, leading the rest of the way.
Hoquiam added three runs in the second, third and fourth innings to stay ahead of the Vikings, while English Hyde worked seven strong innings in the circle. Hyde struck out six and allowed just one a walk.
“English isn’t walking hardly anybody, just around the plate, throwing strikes and letting her defense work behind her,” Reynvaan said. “We left a lot of baserunners, but we will take 11 runs any day. It has been such an up-and-down year for us and the girls are playing really good right now.”
Grizzlies 12, Stags 5
Hoquiam used some defensive miscues by Deer Park and some power hitting by the Grizzlies to take down the Stags on Friday. The Grizzlies took advantage of three walks and two errors to grab a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed the rest of the way.
While the Grizzlies had a few defensive lapses to allow Deer Park to cut the lead in half, scoring two runs in the second, Hoquiam slammed the door shut on the Stags in the third inning. Defensive errors by Deer Park scored the first two runs of the inning, before a triple from Kylee Bagwell drove in three more runs and a 2-run home run from Ashley Paladin delivered the knock out blow.
Each team added one more run, but the game was never really in doubt over the final four innings.
Bulldogs 11, Leopards 0
Montesano took advantage of some early errors by Zillah to run away with the game in a hurry. The Bulldogs put up three runs in the first and added on five more runs in the second to grab control for good.
Lindsay Pace and Peyton Poler led the Bulldogs attack, each slugging a triple and adding multiple RBIs in the contest.
Defensively, Samantha Stanfield kept the Leopards off the basepaths with 10 strikeouts.
Monte 400 142 4 — 15 20 2 Lakeside 120 000 0 — 3 5 3
Stanfield and Poler; Claassen and Kinzel.
RBI: Montesano — Poler 3, Pace 2, Gustafson 2, Cristelli 2, Bartlett, Quinn, Kersker. Lakeside — Frazier 2. Four hits: Montesano — Pace, Bartlett. Three hits: Montesano — Stanfield, Kersker. Two hits: Montesano — Gustafson, Cristelli. Lakeside — Frazier. Triples: Montesano — Bartlett. Doubles: Montesano — Pace 2, Cristelli 2.
Winning pitcher — Stanfield (14 strikeouts, one walk). Losing pitcher — Claassen (eight strikeouts).
Bell Chr 101 020 1 — 5 10 0 Hoquiam 033 320 X — 11 14 1
Hyde and German; Hamilton and Jewett.
Four hits: Hoquiam — German. Three hits: Bellevue Christian — Pippel. Two hits: Bellevue Christian — Walker, LaBossier. Hoquiam — Papp, Bagwell, Paladin. Triples: Bellevue Christian — Pippel 2. Doubles: Bellevue Christian — Pippel, Walker, LaBossier. Hoquiam — German 2, Paladin.
Winning pitcher — Hyde (six strikeouts, one walk). Losing pitcher — Hamilton (four strikeouts, 10 walks).
Hoquiam 407 100 0 — 12 7 2 Deer Park 022 010 0 — 5 8 4
Hyde and German; Lane, M. Erickson (1), Lane (3) and Butler.
RBI: Hoquiam — Bagwell 2, Paladin 2, Papp, Dunn. Deer Park — O. Erickson, Lane, Carlson, Hodgson, M. Erickson. Two hits: Hoquiam — Jump. Deer Park — P. Erickson, Carlson. Home run: Hoquiam — Paladin. Triples: Hoquiam — Bagwell.
Winning pitcher — Hyde (four strikeouts, two walks). Losing pitcher — Lane (three strikeouts, seven walks).
Zillah 000 00 — 0 1 1 Monte 353 0x — 11 9 0
True and Place; Stanfield, Pace (4), Cristelli (5) and Poler.
RBI: Montesano — Gustafson, Kersker 2, Poler 2, Pace 3, Parkin. Two hits: Montesano — Pace, Poler. Triples: Montesano — Poler, Pace. Doubles: Montesano — Poler, Pace.
Winning pitcher — Stanfield (10 strikeouts, one walk). Losing pitcher — True (four strikeouts, two walks).
