Prep softball: East Valley credits surge up standings to ‘playing for each other’
Nearly 20 minutes after Wednesday’s afternoon practice came to an end, East Valley’s Shelby Swanson and JC Weger were still standing next to their cars in the parking lot laughing and talking.
“I just love Shelby. She is one of my best friends on and off the field,” Weger said. “I just want to keep this ride going as long as I can for her and the rest of the team.”
The ride Weger talked about is the tremendous turnaround the Knights softball program has made this season. After a 6-13 finish last season ended with a first-round elimination in districts, East Valley sits at 13-5 and in second place in the Greater Spokane League 2A pecking order with two games to go before postseason play.
A big reason for the positive results has been the play of Swanson, a senior pitcher and power hitter, and Weger, a junior infielder.
“They are integral to our team. They definitely are the leaders of the team as far as work ethic and vocally, they keep the girls going,” East Valley coach Kelli Peckham said. “They make sure they’re pumped up, they make sure to pick each other up. Batting-wise, they’re leading the league in a lot of stats and Shelby in the circle is dominant as a pitcher.”
The two have combined to drive in 86 runs – with Swanson hitting 10 home runs. Swanson also has a 2.66 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched .
“A big difference from the past is my defense is really strong this year,” Swanson said. “I’m working hard for them and they’re working hard for me. So it’s just like, I know if a ball is put in play, they got my back.”
What makes East Valley’s defensive prowess more impressive is the fact that the first base, second base and shortstop spots are being filled by freshmen.
“It has been really fun to see JC and Shelby because they’re in there with them, just coaching them up,” Peckham said. “Helping them when they need help with things and it’s really cool to see them just embrace the freshmen and encourage them. They’re definitely playing for each other”
The early-season success has set the Knights up to do something they haven’t done in 23 years – find a way into the state tournament.
East Valley needs just one win against third-place Pullman in Saturday’s home doubleheader to secure a second-place league finish and a first-round bye at the district tourney – which begins Monday. The top two teams out of that tournament will then face off against the No. 2 and 3 finishers in District 5 – the Central Washington Athletic Conference – with the winners of those glue games going to Selah for the State 2A tournament on May 23-24.
“That would mean so much to me since we haven’t gone to state in my time here,” Swanson said. “And what would make it even more special is doing it with this group.”
Although their toughest games are still ahead of them, the Knights can look back at positive and negative results this season as signs they can play with anyone. East Valley went 1-2 against first-place Deer Park, along with close losses at Clarkston, against Colville (No. 5 in 1A RPI) and Liberty (No. 2 in 2B RPI).
“Just to be close with all those like top teams just shows how far we’ve come over the course of the season,” Weger said. “I feel like we just keep progressing, keep just going on and taking it all one game at a time.”
Peckham said that no matter the results of the coming weeks, this season has shown that the program is on the right trajectory and she believes they can stay this course for years to come.
“This is my seventh year and I’ve been working really hard to just build the program up,” Peckham said. “I coach at the middle school too, so working hard on just getting girls out and playing and just working on building their team chemistry.
“I’m just excited for the girls to have a chance to experience a postseason run, because it is just so fun and they’ve worked so hard.”