Indians win first regional
RICHLAND – North Central’s bats were silent, so they made do with the strong arm of pitcher Kelcie Vallies to get them into Saturday’s 3A regional softball title game.
There, the hits started coming and the Indians found themselves a regional champion for the first time as well as earning their third straight state trip to next weekend’s state tournament in Tacoma.
It took nine innings and an international tiebreaker to turn back West Valley (Yakima) 2-1 in the noon tourney semifinals at Columbia Playfields. In the championship game that followed, the offense gave Vallies an immediate lead and put the 6-3 victory away with a big fourth inning.
“It’s a first for our school and a great honor,” said coach Herm Marshall of the regional crown. “The kids played well.”
But it didn’t come without first-game trepidation. A leadoff walk by Vallies to open the game against WV haunted her when Cass Epperheimer got her bat in the zone and poked a run-scoring double to right.
It was the Rams’ only hit of the game and lone score. NC missed a second-inning scoring opportunity and it trailed into the fifth inning.
NC got even when Cheyen DeLa Rosa was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth, moved up on a passed ball and scored on Rhea Clary’s single. Vallies kept the Rams at bay, striking out a dozen into the ninth.
The key to the outcome, in which teams start with a runner at second base, was shortstop Alicia Kahler’s throw out at home to thwart WV-Yakima’s scoring attempt.
In NC’s bottom of the ninth, Kasara Wise started at second, was bunted to third and Rams coaches elected to intentionally walk the bases loaded.
Jenny Darcy hit a deep fly to right and although Wise failed to tag, the ball was dropped and the game was over.
Visitors in the title game, the Indians didn’t wait until the last minute to score. A pair of one-out walks was followed by Kahler’s hard hit to the left of second base that WV shortstop Emily Shepard got a glove on, but she couldn’t prevent Maggie Capwell from scoring.
Capwell scored again, following the first of her three base hits, in the third inning following an error on a potential inning-ending double play ball. The next inning, when NC broke the game open, Capwell had an RBI hit.
Clary, who had two ringing hits including a double, led off the inning and scored on a hit by Wise. She was followed by Capwell’s RBI single. Then Vallies capped things with a two-run double.
Vallies carried a two-hit shutout and 6-0 lead into the final inning, but walked WV-Yakima’s Nos. 8 and 9 hitters with one out leading to the three runs. But she ended the game by striking out the Rams cleanup hitter, Renae Kimbell for the fourth time.
“Earlier, Hanford scored four runs in the seventh to defeat Mt. Spokane 11-7 and eliminate the Wildcats (8-14). Stacey Stanhipe hit a two-run homer and had four RBIs for the Falcons. Chelsea Gray went 4 for 4 for Mt. Spokane.