First-time Wildcats join Shadle at state

For the first time in 11 years, the University Titans won’t be at the State 4A softball tournament. For the first time, Mt. Spokane will. And, for the second year in a row, so will Shadle Park – and Sam Skillingstad.

All of that was decided Saturday at the 4A Eastern Regional at Franklin Park, a day that started late thanks to rain showers, but a day in which state tournament-caliber fastpitch reigned.

No local team played better than Mt. Spokane, the Greater Spokane League’s third-place finisher during the regular season. The Wildcats, riding the arm of Kristina DeMello and their best hitting of the year, earned their first girls state team berth in any sport with a wild 8-7 nine-inning semifinal win over U-Hi.

“Kristina has been great all year,” Mt. Spokane coach Carl Adams said of his senior right-hander, who raised her record to 15-6 after the win. “But the run support just hasn’t been there. Now, though, the bats are starting to come around. It couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

Mt. Spokane 8, U-Hi 7: The best time was the bottom of the ninth. With the game in the international tiebreaker, the Titans had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the inning on Tonya Schnibbe’s sacrifice fly. U-Hi needed three outs to make an 11th consecutive state appearance.

They got two. With the bases loaded, Lacey Kerr stepped to the plate. Earlier in the game, the center fielder had put her bare hand on Ashley Fargher’s home run but couldn’t make the catch. She admitted she was “looking for another chance to bounce back.”

It came in the ninth. She lined a 1-1 pitch to right, where Amanda Hickman fielded it and fired to Riki Schiermeister at first. Kerr dove. Her hand and the ball arrived nearly simultaneously. Kerr was called safe.

Niki Johnson scored from third to tie it, and pinch hitter Nicole McCloskey, at second, never stopped. She scored standing up and the Wildcats were headed to Tacoma (site of next week’s state tournament).

“She was going to go the whole way,” said Adams, who coaches third base. “I figured they would try to get Lacey at first and if (McCloskey) was out, we would just keep playing. If she scored, we won.”

Richland 4, Mt. Spokane 1: The Wildcats (17-8) ran out of gas in the sixth in the regional title game, when the Bombers (24-2) scored all of their runs, two on a single by Stacey Ellingsworth and the last couple on Jamey Alvarado’s home run.

Before then DeMello had dominated, striking out 12 and yielding just three hits. Mt. Spokane scored its run on Mindy Yorlano’s third-inning double and Jenn Andrews’ sacrifice bunt the Bombers threw away.

Shadle 8, U-Hi 3: The GSL’s top two teams met in a loser-out game, and the Titans (20-5) were once again within outs – six this time – of a Tacoma ticket. But the Highlanders, trailing 3-1, struck for five runs – four unearned after a two-out error – with the big blow a three-run opposite-field home run by Tressa Predisik.

Skillingstad wasn’t sharp, but after Shadle regained the lead, she struck out five of the last six Titans. She finished with 13 strikeouts and scattered six hits, including two by Schiermeister.

Shadle 2, Kamiakin 0: In a rematch of Friday’s 11-inning 2-1 Braves win, Skillingstad lifted the Highlanders to state, putting the finishing touches on a three-win day and raising her record to 24-2.

“I wanted us to go to state very badly,” she said. “I knew if we put it all together and we kept our faith, we would go.”

Faith, and her rise ball. Skillingstad took a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh – and a 2-0 lead built on Robin Conrad’s single and three Braves errors on three consecutive bunts – including Skillingstad’s squeeze that scored Conrad with the first run. Then Kamiakin (23-5) opened the seventh with three hits.

“I told myself to relax,” Skillingstad said, “and start all over.”

Nine pitches later – all rise balls according to coach George Lynn – and the game was over on the last three of her 17 total strikeouts.

Shadle 10, Central Valley 0: In the day’s first loser-out game, Skillingstad limited the Bears to two hits, and three Highlanders – Jen Schwartz, China Frost and Heather Jackson – had that many alone as CV ended its season 15-9.