EAST WENATCHEE - Five out of the last six years, that's how many times Coach Sandy Harris's teams have qualified for the State girls softball tournament.
The Lady Knights earned their most recent trip to the 1B State tourney at last Saturday's Regional tournament, staged at the Sterling Softball Complex in East Wenatchee. Sunnyside Christian throttled the Thorp Tigers 9-3 in the Regional opener on Saturday, then blanked the Pateros Nannygoats 4-0 in the Regional championship tilt.
As the Regional titlists, Sunnyside Christian advances to State as the No. 1 seed from Districts 5/6. This year's 1B State tourney, a double-elimination affair that includes a field of eight teams, will again be staged at the new Kiwanis softball complex in Yakima. Harris said the draw for the May 28-29 State tourney hasn't yet been completed. All that was known as of this morning (Monday) is that her Lady Knights will play at both 1 and 5 p.m. this coming Friday.
In shutting out Pateros by a 4-0 score in last Saturday's Regional championship game, two Lady Knights stood out from the pack. Freshman hurler Makayla Morrow twirled a three-hitter in keeping the Nannygoats at bay. Teammate Janelle DeGroot, a junior, provided the offensive firepower when she drove in three runs with a bases loaded triple.
DeGroot's triple came in the bottom of the fourth, breaking up the scoreless tie. Morrow started the fourth frame rally by reaching base on an outfield error. Another miscue by Pateros in the outfield allowed Ashley Haak to reach base. Following a fielder's choice that allowed Analisa Van Oostrum to reach first but resulted in Morrow getting erased at third, Joleen Van Wingerden took advantage of a third Pateros error to get aboard and load the bases. That brought DeGroot to the plate, who lashed a low screamer to the right-center field gap, clearing the bases in the process. Katie Long accounted for the fourth and final run of the inning when she laid down a sac bunt to score DeGroot.
In shutting out the Nannygoats, the freshman Morrow yielded just three hits. She walked only two while fanning nine.
"Makayla was much more calm out there on Saturday than she's been lately," said Harris. "She did a fantastic job."
Pateros pitcher Katie Richardson was pretty good in her own right, allowing just five hits total from the Sunnyside Christian line-up. The only Lady Knight who managed more than one hit off Richardson was Grace den Hoed, who went 2-for-3. One of those base knocks was a double in the third inning, although den Hoed got thrown out when she failed to slide at third in attempting to stretch the hit into a triple.
In knocking off the Thorp Tigers by a 9-3 count in Saturday's Regional tourney opener, Sunnyside Christian banged out 11 hits. Julie Long led the Lady Knights at the dish, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Also turning in multi-hit performances were Ashley Haak and Van Oostrum, each of whom went 2-for-4. Alyssa Haak was just 1-for-4, but drove in a pair of runs and scored three times.
The big inning against Thorp came in the bottom of the second, when Sunnyside Christian plated five runs. The Long sisters, Katie and Julie, as well as Van Oostrum and Van Wingerden each had a single in the five-run uprising.
Picking up the victory against the Tigers was Ashley Haak. She went the distance from the pitching rubber, scattering six hits while striking out eight batters and walking only one.
"Ashley was determined the whole game," said Harris. "She pitched really well for us."
The two Regional victories improved the Lady Knights' overall record on the season to 15-6.
In looking ahead to this week's 1B State tourney, Harris said the prohibitive favorites most likely are Touchet and Colton.
"They both play in the same league, and both are pretty good clubs.
"We'll have our work cut out for us if we meet up against either one of them.
"But, we're playing pretty well right now and are looking forward to the challenge. After missing out on State last year, we're excited to get back there this year," she added.
