It’s not how the Kentlake High fastpitch team envisioned winning a district title, but when rain washed out the semifinal games two innings into those contests West Central District tournament directors canceled the rest of the tournament on Tuesday afternoon.
With this decision, the Falcons ended up with the no. 1 overall seed into the state tournament, which is slated for Friday (May 28) and Saturday (May 29) at South End Recreation Area in Tacoma. When it was all said and done, Kentlake took the top seed, but had to share the district title with Puyallup, Rogers, and Stadium,
The Falcons won a pair of games on Monday to secure a state berth.
Kentlake (23-1) opened the tournament with a 7-1 victory over Emerald Ridge on Monday and capped off the day with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over Wilson.
Kentlake put away Wilson in the eighth inning thanks to a clutch hit by Brooke Evans, the team’s first-team all-league third baseman. Evans drove home Jessie Richardson for the winning run.
“I was a little nervous,” Evans said. “I took a deep breath and relaxed. I was just trying to find a gap.”
Evans ripped the ball down the third-base line and Richardson sprinted toward home, beating the throw, to score and giving the Falcons the 7-6 victory in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Evans, a senior, said it meant so much to her to get back to state after the Falcons came up short last spring.
“I’ve been on varsity for four years,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for this chance. I’m looking forward to state. I think we’re going to do well.”
Kentlake had to play catch up much of the game after Wilson jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Taylor Gomsrud, Alexa Olague and Taylor Clark hit a trio of consecutive doubles.
It was the bottom of the fifth that set up the win for the Falcons as they turned the tables on the Rams.
Down 4-2, Libby Riehl started it off with a single to center field, Evans put another single into the outfield and Kellie Nielsen bunted them over.
With two outs, Brittany Styger ripped a single up the middle, driving in Ashley Buch then Lexi Engman followed that up with a triple to deep center field that drove in two runs.
Junior center fielder Erin Crowley finished the scoring in the inning with a squeeze bunt that drove in Engman.
Crowley finished the game 5-for-5, Evans was 3-for-5 while Riehl was 3-for-4.
“This team is more unified,” Evans said. “We’re not used to (coming from behind) … but we were confident the whole time.”
Kentlake coach Greg Kaas said this is representative of the Falcons’ winning tradition as they have made it to the district semifinals in six of the last seven years.
“I love the resiliency of these kids,” Kaas said. “We have come so far as a team.”
KW, KR eliminated
Kentwood’s dreams of getting back to the state tournament were dashed by a 5-0 loss to South Kitsap.
Kentwood coach Jason Wisor has a youthful team that won its way into the playoffs with a pair of gritty victories over Thomas Jefferson and Auburn Riverside at the end of the regular season.
“This is just all experience,” Wisor said. “We take this, we learn from it. We’re young, we’re talented, we’ve got something to prove (next year).”
The Conquerors (11-16) found themselves in the loser’s bracket after dropping their first game 7-5 against Stadium, but battled back with a 7-1 victory Monday afternoon over Bellarmine Prep to get into the second day of the tournament.
Brianne Cossey was 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Bailey Marshall and Allison Newcomb were both 2-for-4 with a run driven in against Bellarmine.
Kentwood has a bright future ahead of Wisor as the team will get all but a pair of seniors back next year.
Kentridge met the same fate as Kentwood. The Chargers (17-9) opened the tournament with a 4-1 loss to Wilson, then were eliminated by Emerald Ridge, 14-3. Kentridge’s Kelli Suguro collected a pair of hits in the loss to Wilson. Nicole Barger enjoyed a perfect day at the plate against Emerald Ridge, going 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.
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