Shadle savors state fastpitch championship

Shadle Park softball players and coach George Lynn are no strangers to success, both at high school state competition and during summer traveling tournaments.

But winning the Highlanders’ third-straight state trophy and first state softball championship, they agree, was something special.

“I think this is pretty close to my pinnacle or right there,” said Lynn, who in the summer has coached the Spokane Sliders – including five of this year’s Highlanders – to several national tournaments. “You’re bringing home history to the school. This is something that will always be there 75 or 80 years down the road.”

Star pitcher Sam Skillingstad, who has been a part of the Sliders program for years, concurred.

“This feels like it means more,” she said after completing a 28-1 season with Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Vancouver’s Mountain View. “I mean, you win a summer tournament, you get a T-shirt or something. But this, you get a trophy, you get a piece of home plate. It’s more of a memory.”

A tradition at Tacoma’s South End Recreation Area fields has been for the championship team to dig up a specially designed home plate made up of individual squares. Each Shadle player pulled off one of the squares for a keepsake.

It was something the Highlanders had watched their opponent do a year ago when they were relegated to second place. That, Lynn said, was motivation for this year’s title march.

After Shadle’s final victory, an emotional coach, tearful players and joyous fans, including body-painted male students, reveled in the accomplishment.

“One of the parents said thanks for the daily affirmations,” said Lynn, “the ‘Win State’ trinkets I gave out every single day.”

Whether they were candy bars or pieces of paper with motivational reminders of the goal, Lynn kept everyone focused.

“To see it develop and happen,” he said, “words can’t express what it feels like.”

Shadle opened the tournament on Friday with a 5-0 win over Jackson, an Everett area school, and followed with a 1-0 win over Evergreen of Vancouver.

On Saturday, Shadle rolled past Woodinville, 8-0, before defeating Mountain View for the title.

The Highlanders didn’t allow a run in their final seven games, – three at regional competition and four at the state tournament. They played flawless and at times spectacular defense and also got timely hitting from numerous heroes.

All nine regulars had at least two hits during the weekend, led by Allie Burger’s eight. Eight players scored and six had runs batted in, including No. 9 hitter Jesica Berlinger’s clutch two-run single in Shadle’s first-game win.

Leadoff hitter China Frost doubled and scored on Burger’s base hit for the only run in the win over Evergreen.

Danielle Lynn drove in four runs during the semifinal win over Woodinville, a game in which Frost and Burger had three hits and scored twice each.

Lynn also tripled and scored on Tressa Predisik’s double in the title win.

“We all knew why we were here,” Lynn said of her second-day productivity. “We were not going to play with the seniors again, and what the seniors wanted was to win State. All I was thinking was that it was Heather Jackson’s and Krista Zappone’s day.”

Of course, no title would have happened without Skillingstad, who allowed just 10 hits while striking out 42 batters. Mountain View had only one base runner against her in the title game.

Skillingstad finished the year with 368 strikeouts, allowing only six earned runs. Her earned run average was a minuscule 0.24.

“Every day at practice, every moment we’ve been on the field, even out of school, we’ve always talked about (winning State),” Skillingstad said. “It’s been our dream, and we’ve finally accomplished it. It’s a good feeling.”