Good Tuesday morning. We’ll have last night’s baseball for you in a bit. First, though, time to get the weekend that was wrapped up on the softball diamond and it was a busy Father’s Day down in Portland at the Valley Invitational for a number of area club teams with Valley high school and middle school girls’ softball players. And Father’s Day provided a fantastic battle for Mount Si High School softball fans to take in, as their two top returners next spring and their teams faced off against one another. Thanks, though, to a stellar effort by another player, this thing became very one-sided real quick.
Wildcat shortstop Anna Braukus and her Portland-based Northwest Bullets Campos unleashed 21 total hits and thrashed Mount Si catcher Ally Hetzel’s Washington Ladyhawks Simpson, based in Bellevue, 19-2, in the game that took place at Hillsboro Stadium Complex. That score was not a misprint, that ended up being the final in this one as Bullet Mua Williams took this game over in a big way, hitting two homers and driving in eight runs as NWB took command of the game with a six-run third, then poured it on late, scoring 10 more times in the sixth inning sending 16 hitters to the plate in that frame alone. Both Wildcat seniors-to-be started in the game, with Braukus going 0-2 for the Bullets before being lifted midway through the game for a backup player and Hetzel going 1-2 for the Hawks.
Both teams also played other games on Sunday, with the Hawks finishing in a 9-9 draw with Boise-based Idaho Crossfire; Hetzel was 2-3 with a run scored in that one. The Bullets finished out the weekend scoring a 9-2 win over the Washington Angels, based in the Tri-Cities. Braukus did not play in that game for NWB. Both teams are expected next to travel to Colorado to compete in the Fourth of July weekend tournaments in the Denver area. We’ll start prep work for that soon and have coverage of those events in the Journal.
Time now to wrap up the rest of the action from down there on Sunday. GameChanger brings us all the scores and highlights. GC is your go-to source for stats, schedules and live streams featuring your favorite Valley youth baseball and softball players and their teams. Get it now at your app store for phones and tablets.
Northwest Rampage 12, Washington Acers 16U McCabe 9: The Acers fell to the Oregon team. Cedarcrest’s Abby Combs was 1-3 with a walk and run scored in this one for the Auburn-based Acers crew.
Washington Ladyhawks 18U Fairbairn 9, USA Explosion 4: The Puyallup-based Hawks cruised past the Tri-Cities-based Explosion. Mount Si’s Avery Bielenberg went 1-3 with a run scored and RBI for WLH, whose big hit was a homer by Jaeden Sajec, a player Cedarcrest fans will be familiar with; she played this spring at Lynnwood’s Meadowdale High School, a Red Wolves Wesco Conference rival.
AI Bandits 16U Ruess 9, Washington Acers Liljenberg 0: Performances by a pair of top Kingco players paced the Redmond team to a win over their Auburn-based rivals. Issaquah High School’s Riley Baumann went 2-4 with two doubles driving in three runs, and Eastlake High School’s Addi Baumgartner pitched five innings of one-hit softball striking out seven for AIB to get the win.
Giants Fastpitch 16U Pinder 13, Oregon Wild 9: Down 9-2, the Kirkland-based Giants unloaded in epic fashion, scoring 11 runs in the fourth to take the win over the Oregon team. Redmond High School’s Ella Carter was 2-4 with a run scored and three more driven in; her older sister, Michaela, is a Cedarcrest HS alum and recent graduate of Fordham University in New York, where she played college softball.
Snohomish Shock 14U Campbell 12, Lady A’s 1: The Shock cruised to the win over the southwest Washington team behind soon-to-be Cedarcrest freshman Olivia Lowell, who went 2-3 with three runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI.
Northwest Vandals 12, Absolute Blast 14U Pettit 11: The Woodinville-based Blast fell in a barnburner with the Oregon team. Mount Si High School’s Jenna Nowak was 1-3 with an RBI in this one for AbB.
USA Explosion 5, AI Bandits 16U Purple 3: Mount Si’s Abby Rowland on Sunday had limited action once again for the Puyallup team, with her late defensive outing being it for the Bandits in this one. She had no at-bats. Purple in a second game beat the Renegades Fastpitch from Oregon 10-3.
AI Bandits 16U Ruess 8, Maniacs Fastpitch 2: The Bandits rolled over the eastern Washington team behind Redmond High School’s Kati Cygan, who doubled and scored a run.
Washington Ladyhawks 18U Fairbairn 13, Northwest Vandals 12: Bielenberg popped her third homer of the summer and drove in three runs leading the Hawks to the walk-off win over the Portland team. A double with runner Alexis Johnson on base scored the Lake Stevens High School player with the walk-off run. Johnson’s dad, Dave, is a Mount Si alum and former Wildcat baseball player from back in the mid-1990’s.
Washington Angels 12, Giants Fastpitch 16U Pinder 2: The Angels, based in the Tri-Cities, ended the Giant weekend in emphatic fashion with the blowout result. Carter was 0-1 with a walk for the Giants.
AI Bandits 16U Ruess 5, Moundtime 1: Baumann had a hit and drove in three runs pacing the Bandits over the southwest Washington team. Baumgartner went the distance in the circle allowing a run on five hits walking one and Elise Roe paced AIB with two hits and two runs.
Snohomish Shock 14U Campbell 10, Northwest Grapettes Oylear 7: The Snohomish-area rivals squared off about 200 miles south down in the Rose City with the Shock getting the win; Lowell was 1-3 with a run pacing the victors.
Pacific Fury 8, Flame Fastpitch 14U Dill 6: The Fury ended the Flame’s weekend handing the Bellevue team the loss in this one. Mount Si’s Westyn Haigh had a good day, going 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBI’s pacing the Flame efforts.
Fireballs Fastpitch 11, Elevate Northwest 14U Bowman 4: Elevate’s weekend came to an end following this blowout loss to the Oregon team. Mount Si’s Madi Brand pitched two innings and they did not go well; she allowed seven runs, four earned, on seven hits walking one and striking out one taking the loss. She had one at-bat and was hitless.
Idaho Intensity 5, Washington Ladyhawks 18U Fairbairn 2: A homer from Eastlake High School’s Audrey Borup was not enough for the Fairbairn crew as their weekend ended with the loss to the Idaho team. Bielenberg was 1-3 with an RBI and Johnson went 0-3, both for WLH.
Oregon Blaze 16, AI Bandits 16U Ruess 5: The Mustang duo of Cygan and Addy Ruess both homered but the Blaze ran away with this one to close out the weekend for the Redmond-based Bandits ladies.
Northwest Vandals 11, Snohomish Shock 14U Campbell 3: The Shock’s weekend ended with the loss to the Oregon team. Lowell was 2-2 with a stolen base, run scored and RBI pacing the Snohomish side.
Flame Lyons falls: The Carnation-based 18U team featuring several players from the Valley dropped their lone Sunday game, 12-2, to the Olympia-based South Sound Boltz. None of the locals played in the game for the Flame, owing to all of them having graduated this past weekend from either MSHS or CHS.
Other games
Other tournament action involving local young ladies, again brought to you via GameChanger:
Snohomish Shock 6, Flame Fastpitch 18U Balzer 4: The Shock, based in Snohomish, bested the Carnation-based Balzer ladies to close out the weekend for the Flame at a tournament in Mount Vernon. The trio of Valley players on the Flame – Mount Si’s Maggie Potoshnik and Zoe Crawford and Cedarcrest’s Aspen Balzer – all went hitless in the game for the Flame to a combined 0-7 in the contest.
Stod’s Storm 14U 8, Electric Tigers 4: Bellevue-based Stod’s doubled up the Olympia team at the USSSA 14U Washington State championship tournament in Kent. Soon-to-be Mount Si freshman Lyla Taylor worked two innings in the circle for Stod’s walking two and striking out three without allowing a run or hit apiece. She received a save and was 0-2 with a walk and run scored offensively pacing the victors.
Cowlitz County Devils 10, KB Riley 14U 3: Fall City’s KB was blown out in the semifinal clash by the eventual tournament winners from southwest Washington. Vera McCann led KB with a hit and two RBI’s.
WFC Duxbury 12U 20, Montesano Bulldogs 4: The Wildcats, based in Snoqualmie, rolled into the finals of the USSSA Father’s Day Classic in Federal Way behind Brielle Seitz. The Issaquah Middle School student doubled, tripled and drove in five runs as WFC had their way with the Grays Harbor-based team. Tyee Middle School’s Savannah Rindy paced things for the ‘Cats with three hits, three runs scored and an RBI.
Sabotage Fastpitch 10, Stod’s Storm 14U 6: The weekend did not end well at all for Taylor, as she was quickly pummeled by the Sabotage bats in the circle to the tune of six runs allowed on six hits without getting an out to open the game. Ouch. Stod’s though still finished the tournament tied for fifth with KB.
Northwest Reign 8, KB Riley 14U 7: McCann’s homer was not enough to save KB’s weekend, as they finished as noted tied for fifth in the tournament with the Stod’s crew following this loss to the southwest Washington team. Kinnee was 1-3 with a double and two RBI’s pacing the efforts for KB.
Tacoma Select 13, WFC Duxbury 12U 5: The ‘Cats came up short in the 12U Silver title game at the USSSA FDC tournament despite a double and run scored from Devin Lowen, who attends Eastside Prep School in Bellevue.
Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal 