The Kentwood High fastpitch team wasted little time Friday afternoon in reaching its goal.
Behind a pair of golden pitching performances, the Conquerors knocked off Olympia and Puyallup in succession at Spanaway’s Sprinker Recreation Center in the Class 4A West Central District tournament and clinched its first state berth since 2006.
Kentwood, which won the South Puget Sound League North Division title this spring, opened with a narrow 2-1 win over Olympia, then throttled SPSL South foe Puyallup 8-0 to seal a trip to state.
“It’s great. The kids were really excited about it and, if you ask me, they deserve (the state berth),” said Kentwood coach Jason Wisor. “They’ve overcome a lot of things. Just to be a part of the group of 16 that is left is awesome.”
Kentwood (18-4) plays Rogers on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the district semifinals. Auburn Riverside will play Central Kitsap in the other semifinal game. The championship is slated for 6 p.m. The top six teams from the 16-team district tournament advance to state, which will be played Friday and Saturday (May 29-30) at South End Recreation Area in Tacoma.
Kentwood has never placed at the state tournament.
“It feels good, really good,” Kentwood’s Jessica Glenn said of the state berth. “It was really nice beating Puyallup because they knocked us out (of the district tournament) last year.”
Puyallup wouldn’t get that chance on Friday as the Conquerors plated one run in the first inning, another in the third and then broke the game open with a three-run fifth.
The one run in the first inning, however, was all Kentwood pitcher Kayla Evans would need. The senior righthander, who was battling flu-like symptoms and didn’t come into the game until the second batter, allowed just one hit and struck out eight.
“At this point, let’s pitch sick every day,” Wisor quipped. “(Brooke and Kayla) both did a great job. A lot of the pressure is off.”
Meanwhile, the Kentwood offense that sputtered in a 2-1 win over Olympia in its opener, picked it up against Puyallup, banging out 12 hits. Catcher Katie Adams delivered a particularly impressive game, going 4-for-4 with three runs batted in against the Vikings. Liane DeHart added a pair of hits, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base in the win while Bailey Marshall chipped in a two-run double.
“Everybody was hitting the ball,” Glenn noted.
Things weren’t nearly as cut and dry against Olympia, though the Conquerors were able to scratch out a run in the first inning and another in the second, giving sophomore pitcher Brooke Thomas plenty of run support to work with. Thomas went the distance, scattering four hits and allowing just one run in the win. She added nine strikeouts.
Glenn and Thomas each collected a hit and a run scored in the win.
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