CENTRALIA — Montesano’s girls made their annual trip to state without a district title trophy in their possession.
Castle Rock rode the two-hit pitching of freshman Payton Kessler and a pair of sixth-inning home runs to capture the District IV Class 1A softball championship with a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs May 18 at Centralia’s Fort Borst Park.
The Bulldogs (17-5 overall) had previously qualified for their 22nd consecutive state appearance. They’ll open state Friday at Richland.
Somewhat unheralded despite its Trico League championship, Castle Rock (also 17-5) kept Montesano’s and Elma’s explosive attacks in check during its final two district contests. The Rockets had downed Elma, 3-1, in a rain-shortened five-inning semifinal.
Not a particularly hard thrower, Kessler kept Monte off-balance with excellent movement on her pitches. She struck out only five (and three of those came on called third strikes), but the Bulldogs rarely hit the ball hard.
“We went up there trying to kill the ball,” Montesano coach Pat Pace explained. “She did a good job of keeping it on the outside corner. We tried to pull it (unsuccessfully) and when she brought it inside, she froze us. Hats off to the Castle Rock pitcher, she did a good job.”
The Bulldogs were able to parlay one of their hits into a first-inning run that, for much of the distance, looked as if it might stand up.
Monte sandwiched three walks — the only free passes Kessler allowed in the game — around Matti Ekerson’s double off the center fielder’s glove to score in the first. The last walk, to Jessica Stanfield, forced across Katie Granstrom with the run.
Overpowering the Rockets with her fastball, Monte pitcher Lindsay Pace preserved the lead through five innings. But Castle Rock began catching up with her heater in the sixth.
“She started elevating her pitches,” Pat Pace said of his daughter’s performance. “She did a good job keeping the ball down (for five innings), but she got everything belt high and above in the sixth and she paid for it.”
Although Emma Jensen collected Monte’s second hit with a sixth-inning single and Gracie Kimball crashed through the temporary center-field fence to rob Janessa Otterstetter of a solo homer in the seventh, the Bulldogs never seriously threatened in their final two innings.
Montesano did play excellent defense. Stanfield came up with a belly-flopping catch in right field to save at least two runs in the fourth. Ekerson made a couple of nice grabs in left field.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs remain on the short list of favorites at state.
Castle Rock 000 004 0 — 4 7 1
Montesano 100 000 0 — 1 2 0
WP — Kessler (7 IP, R, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K). LP — Pace (7 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 K).
Top Players: Castle Rock — Huckleberry (2-2), Golden (1-4, HR), Cline (1-4, HR, 2 RBI). Montesano — Ekerson (1-3, 2B), Jensen (1-3).
Consolation Bracket
Elma 21, Hoquiam 1
Elma stamped its ticket to state and eliminated Hoquiam from the 1A District IV Tournament with a barrage of hits in a 21-1 win over the Grizzlies.
Elma’s first big rally came in the second inning when the Eagles put up eight runs on seven hits. The game’s second frame was punctuated by Elma senior Destry Dineen’s solo shot to center field.
The Eagles (21-2) overwhelmed Hoquiam (10-9) again in the fifth inning, where they scored 10 runs. Hoquiam pitcher Charli Eastman entered the game and struggled with her control, walking four and surrendering four hits.
Elma center fielder Molly Johnston said the win over the Grizzlies proves that the team is peaking at the right time.
“The way we won (against Hoquiam), you can tell that everything is coming together,” she said. “Our defense is amazing up and down the lineup, from seniors to freshmen. We’re all coming together.”
Elma 082 1 (10) – 21 17 0
Hoquiam 001 00 – 1 4 4
WP – Quin Mikel (ER, 2 K, BB); LP — Hilliard (4 IP, 9 ER, BB)
Top Players: Elma – Kali Rambo (5-5, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI), Dineen (HR), Carly Gay (3-4, 2 RBI)
Consolation Final
Elma 5, Forks 0
Elma locked up the district’s No. 3 seed with a 5-0 victory over Forks in the 1A District Tournament in Centralia on Saturday.
The Eagles’ three-run third inning rally was fueled by consecutive RBI hits from Kali Rambo, Quin Mikel and Molly Johnston.
Mikel was solid at the plate and cruised in the circle with five strikeouts in her shutout performance.
Elma head coach Roger Elliot said his team is playing with a little extra energy heading to state after losing a controversial rain-shortened game to Castle Rock in the opening round of the tournament.
