BLHS FASTPITCH: Lady Panthers win two West Central District games, lose title, move on to state tourney
Published 1:47 pm Monday, May 23, 2011
The 23-2 Bonney Lake High fastpitch squad won a pair of nail biters at Tacoma’s Sprinker Recreation Center during the West Central District III 3A tournament to reach the Saturday evening title game, where they lost to Peninsula High 10-7.
The Panthers now move on to the 3A state fastpitch tournament Friday and Saturday as the No. 2 seed in the annual state fastpitch festival, being staged for the first time at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.
The Panthers will begin their run with a 10 a.m. rendezvous against Bellevue High, the same team they started out against in the soggy 2010 3A state tournament. In last year’s opener, Bonney Lake won 5-4.
Should the Panthers edge out the Wolverines once more, they would then move on to encounter the victor of the Sedro Woolley-Kamiakin contest and play at 4 p.m. Friday.
For being ranked among the top five 3A contingents in the state going into the district tourney, Bonney Lake was not handed any favors, as they mixed it up with two teams that played under the 4A classification last season in Kelso and Wilson.
Kelso has established a winning tradition over the last half decade, having earned the 4A state championship crown in 2009 and 2010, and was no slouch this season either, as the its program amassed an impressive record in the Greater St. Helens League.
To no one’s surprise, Kelso gave Bonney Lake all they wanted and more Friday as after six stanzas the score was knotted at seven apiece.
Bonney Lake kept the Highlanders at bay in the top of the seventh as Panther catcher Michaela Blad made a stellar defensive play at the plate to seal off the rapidly approaching Kelso baserunner from crossing the dish.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers managed to score for the 8-7 triumph. Bonney Lake windmiller Rendi Johnson, who had taken a screaming line-drive to the shin earlier in the wild affair, shook that off and deposited a leadoff single; she was replaced by courtesy runner Zahra Peterson.
Peterson advanced to second base when Chloe Beal dropped down a perfect bunt and the next batter, Christian McKone, smashed a double to easily coax Peterson home for the game-winning tally.
In the semifinal match up against Wilson Saturday afternoon, there was to be more drama on tap for the Bonney Lake. The madcap affair went nine innings, before Bonney Lake finally prevailed thanks to Blad crushing a double to bring home McKone from third for the 5-4 conquest that sent BLHS to the championship rendezvous 10 minutes later.
An exhausted Bonney Lake bunch staggered into the final trial against Peninsula High.
Bonney Lake had tussled with the Seahawks on four separate occasions in 2011, claiming victory all four times.
“I tip my cap to Peninsula, it is a good team that never gives up or gets discouraged,” Panther coach Andrew Sage said. “All of their previous four losses overall had come against us this season, before we finally lost to them.”
Sage was quick to add, however, that he was proud of his girls for playing their hearts out, even though they were not exactly fresh as a daisy coming into the championship meeting.
