Shadle comes up shy

TACOMA – It took only a short period in Shadle Park’s quest for a second straight State 4A softball championship to realize how difficult perfection is to attain, and how easily the sport can break players’ hearts.

The Highlanders were gunning for an unbeaten season when they were undone by a series of unfortunate fifth-inning events in a 4-1 loss to Eastlake in the title game Saturday at SERA Fields.

It was Shadle’s second runner-up finish in three successive finals appearances and a bitter ending for six seniors following last year’s 28-1 state title season.

“We were 28-1 again,” said Shadle’s Sam Skillingstad, whose brilliant four-year high school pitching career ended with her seventh loss in 103 decisions. “It’s too bad the loss was not on another day.”

Until the decisive three-run fifth. Skillingstad had retired 12 straight Wolves. In the fifth, she walked the leadoff batter on a close full-count pitch.

Then a push bunt landed for a hit past the charging Skillingstad and third baseman China Frost.

With one out, Katie Bunger’s hit over third found the line for one run and University of Washington-bound Kim Pohlman later hit a high pop that dropped between Shadle’s second baseman and right fielder for the other two scores.

“I just see ball, hit ball,” Pohlman said. “It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but it got the job done.”

So did Eastlake pitcher Stephanie Fox, who made a concerted effort at keeping the ball away from Shadle’s hitters.

“I knew their first five in the lineup are really strong,” Fox said. “My plan was to not give them anything to jack out of here. I was just going to make them swing at junk.”

Except for Highlanders leadoff hitter Allie Burger, who had half of their six hits, and Jenn Schwartz, who had two, she was good to her word.

Shadle had base runners in each of the first four innings but never could get a good swing on the ball to score them. Burger led off the game with an infield hit and stole second. The next three batters were weakly retired.

Burger was also left at third base following her second hit and Shadle left a runner at second in the fourth.

“We picked a bad game to go a little bit flat at the plate,” Shadle coach George Lynn said. “We couldn’t be disciplined enough on some of those outside pitches and some were right off the end of the bat and were probably a good portion off the plate. We probably had six or seven hard-hit balls, but the hard-hit balls were right at people. After that your luck starts running out.”

In the fifth, Eastlake’s luck kicked in – as is so often the case in softball – and three runs were a difficult mountain to scale.

Schwartz’s second hit of the game led off the seventh and Megan Skillingstad doubled her home. The rally proved short-lived.

Shadle reached the championship game – on a day when temperatures were in the 70s and games played under deep blue skies – by pouncing on Redmond early for a 6-0 triumph in the 9 a.m. semifinals.

Burger and Frost hit back-to-back singles and Danielle Lynn crushed a home run for a 3-0 first-inning lead. While the team played add-on, Sam Skillingstad pitched the 23rd no-hitter of her career, striking out 16.

When Burger started the 2 p.m. championship game on base, it looked like things might go the same way. Instead after four standoff, scoreless innings, things got away from the Highlanders and their season ended unfulfilled.

“It does come down to the little things – the little things like a push bunt and a blooper over third base and a blooper over second base,” Sam Skillingstad said. “It’s part of the game. In this case, it won the game.”

Lynn gave full credit to Eastlake for getting up for the game and doing the things necessary to win. But he said it was a tough way for Shadle’s season to end after entering the game 28-0, having won its last 35 games, going 83-5 over the past three seasons and earning four top-four state trophies.

“The girls put their heart and soul into this team and deserved more,” he said. “I think they are the best team I’ve ever had.”

State 1B: Taryn Short went 4 for 4 with a home run, three runs batted in and three runs scored to power Touchet to a 10-0 five-inning victory over Garfield-Palouse in the championship game at Kiwanis Park in Yakima.

Inchelium began the day with a 9-4 win over Sunnyside Christian in a loser-out game.

The Hornets followed that with a 6-2 victory over Entiat in a game for third and fourth place.

Earlier in the day, Entiat eliminated Columbia (Hunters) 17-5.

State 2B: Liberty went 2-1 on the final day of the tournament at Kiwanis Park in Yakima.

The Lancers opened with a 4-3 victory over Dayton in a loser-out game. Alesa Heiydt singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning and Angela Bethel struck out 14 in a winning effort.

Liberty followed with a 4-1 win over Selkirk in a loser-out game, getting 10 more strikeouts from Bethel in a three-hitter.

The Lancers missed a chance to play for the third-place trophy when they lost to Pe Ell 2-1 in a loser-out game. Pe Ell scored the winning run on a bases-loaded wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh.

Toutle Lake beat Adna 2-1 in the championship game.

Selkirk began the day with an 8-7 victory over Lind-Ritzville in a loser-out game.

State 2A: WF West doubled up Colville 4-2 in the consolation finals for third and fourth place. The Indians finished 25-3.

Colville began the day with a 12-11 semifinal loss at the hands of Burlington-Edison.

Colville bounced back and defeated Steilacoom 6-0 in a loser-out game.

Othello blanked Burlington-Edison 3-0 in the championship game.