Montesano once again reigned supreme at the 1A District 1/4 Tournament, winning its third title in a row at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
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1A District 1/4 Championship
Montesano 14, Seton Catholic 6
Montesano’s dominance in the district tournament continued as the Bulldogs claimed their third-straight title with a 14-6 victory over Seton Catholic on Thursday.
The Bulldogs (19-5 overall) got right to work in the early innings, with the Monte offense putting two runs on the board in the top of the first in an Ali Parkin sacrifice fly to drive in left fielder Liv Robinson followed by an error that allowed third baseman Lex Stanfield to cross the dish.
Monte added a run in the second on a Robinson sacrifice fly to drive in second baseman Regan Wintrip.
The Bulldogs took command of the game with five runs in the third. Parkin led off with a solo home run follow later in the inning by what Monte head coach Pat Pace called the turning point of the game, a Grand Slam home run over the left-field fence from Wintrip, staking Monte to a 8-0 lead after three innings.
“I was just looking for my pitch and to get my back hip into it, like (Montesano head coach Pat) Pace says to,” said Wintrip, who struggled through the emotions of the moment to find the words for her epic blast. “I’m just very thankful for everyone and everybody supporting me. I don’t really have words for it.”
“That was the big hit for us,” Pace said. “That kind of put the nail in the coffin.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Regan Wintrip hit a Grand Slam home run to help the Bulldogs defeat Seton Catholic 14-6 in the 1A District 1/4 championship game on Thursday in Centralia.
Monte’s Grace Gooding drove in courtesy-runner Taylor Galvin – on board via a Parkin one-out double – with a clutch two-out double to left in the top of the fourth.
But in the bottom half of the inning, the Cougars (18-4) spoiled the shutout bid of Monte starting pitcher Violet Prince, who hadn’t allowed a hit and retired nine of 10 batters she faced through the first three frames.
The first seven Seton Catholic batters reached against Prince, cutting Monte’s lead to 9-5 and chasing the freshmen phenom from the circle.
As it turned out, Prince had tweaked her knee during her warm-up tosses ahead of the inning, leading to the Cougars’ five-run blitz.
Pace slotted Gooding into the circle and the junior standout retired the next three batters to stop the damage, stranding two runners on base.
“Grace settled in and took control of the circle,” Pace said.
The Cougars clawed one run closer with a bases-loaded ground out by Grace Farrell in the bottom of the sixth, and had the tying run at the plate in the form of catcher Kingsley Williams. But Gooding got Williams to ground out to Stanfield at third, ending the inning with Monte up 9-6.
In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs decided to put the game away.
Shortstop Addi Kersker led off with a single and after Gooding struck out, center fielder Adda Potts singled to put runners on first and second.
First baseman Kylee Wisdom followed with a ground-ball single to left, driving in Kersker. Potts then came in to score on a Cougars error on a fly ball from Wintrip, putting Monte up 11-6.
After Galvin was cut down trying to steal third for the second out, Charlie Fairbairn walked followed by a clutch two-run double from Robinson.
Stanfield drew a walk followed by a Parkin single to score Robinson with the Bulldogs’ 14th run of the game.
“I think we really did small ball really well and our bats came alive,” Gooding said. “We got balls to the outfield in spots no one was at and we hit solid.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Grace Gooding (5) lets out a cheer after hitting a double during the Bulldogs’ 14-6 win over Seton Catholic in the 1A District 1/4 championship game on Thursday in Centralia.
Gooding retired the side in the seventh, clinching another Bulldogs district championship with a strikeout of Kenzie Kuhnhausen to seal the victory.
“I think that Violet pitched great and I just really thought coming in there that I had to do this for my team,” Gooding said. “I had to own the circle and know that my team had my back and were confident in me.”
Prince earned the win, allowing four earned runs on two hits and three walks with four strikeouts in three innings pitched.
“It was a big opportunity and I’m glad I had Grace to have my back in those big moments,” Prince said. “I kind of just came out and threw like I knew how and believed in all my pitches. … (The run support) made us feel a lot more confident. … It was very helpful to have our offense have our backs.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano pitcher Violet Prince earned the win in a 14-6 victory over Seton Catholic in the 1A District 1/4 championship game on Thursday in Centralia.
Gooding allowed two unearned runs on four hits and six strikeouts in four innings of relief.
Parkin had three hits to lead the Bulldogs while Robinson and Wintrip also had multi-hit games for Monte, which had six extra-base hits in the win.
Pace said the key to his team’s offensive production was going back to “old school” Montesano small ball.
“We did more short game than we’ve done all year,” he said. “The girls get a good job getting the ball down and running the bases really well today. … We have a lot of speed and it kind of causes chaos out there.”
With the win, Montesano won its third-consecutive district championship.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD The Montesano Bulldogs defeated Seton Catholic 14-6 to win the 1A District 1/4 Championship on Thursday at Forst Borst Park in Centralia.
While it would be understandable for the feeling of winning another district title to become commonplace, no Bulldog was taking the accomplishment lightly.
“There are six seniors that were all out on that field, and I’m pretty happy for them and their families right now,” Pace said. “That’s the big thing.”
“It fells great,” Gooding said of the win. “I love being a Bulldog. It’s such a special program and I just love them.”
“All three years, coming out and playing with this team, it’s just a great experience and it means a lot,” Wintrip said.
Montesano earned the top seed in the 1A State Tournament and will face the winner of No. 9 Lynden Christian versus No. 8 Kiona-Benton in a quarterfinal matchup at 1 p.m. on Friday in Richland.
Montesano 215 100 5 – 14 16 3
Seton Catholic 000 501 0 – 6 5 1
WP: Prince (3 IP, 4R, 4ER, 2H, 3BB, 4K). LP: Stephens (2.1 IP, 8R, 8ER, 9H, 2BB).
Leading hitters: Montesano – Parkin (3-4, HR, 2B, R, 3RBI); Wintrip (2-4, GS HR, 2B, 3R, 4RBI); Robinson (2-4, 2B, 2R, 3RBI, 2 SB); Gooding (2-3, 2B, R, RBI); Potts (2-4, R); Stanfield (1-4, R, 2 SB); Wisdom (1-3, R, RBI). SC – McMaster (2-3, R, RBI); Khnhausen (1-4, 2B, R, 2RBI); Lubisich (1-4, R, RBI); Figueroa (1-3, RBI).
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1B District 1/4 Semifinal
Montesano 7, Lynden Christian 3
Montesano advanced to the district-championship game with a 7-3 win over Lynden Christian on Thursday in Centralia.
The Bulldogs broke a scoreless tie when Lex Stanfield scored on a single by infielder Addi Kersker in the top of the third inning.
Courtesy runner Taylor Galvin scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the from to put Monte up 2-0.
The Bulldogs doubled the lead in the fourth when star catcher Ali Parkin singled to drive in Liv Robinson and Regan Wintrip.
Monte continued to manufacture runs when Charlie Fairbairn was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth and later scored on a one-out single by first baseman Kylee Wisdom.
The Lyncs (14-7) broke through for three runs on a bases-clearing double by Roxanne Lening with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.
But Monte responded with two runs on a two-run double by standout senior Robinson to extend the lead to 7-3.
Bulldogs freshman pitcher Violet Prince did the rest, working around a one-out single and walk to strikeout the final two Lyncs she faced and send Monte to the district-championship game.
Prince allowed one earned run on three hits and four walks with 15 strikeouts in seven innings pitched to earn the win.
The top half of Monte’s lineup went 8 for 16 (.500) to lead a Bulldogs offense that had 12 hits and stole 10 bases in the the game, five from Stanfield alone.
Montesano 002 210 2 – 7 12 1
Lynden Christian 000 003 0 – 3 3 1
WP: Prince (7 IP, R, ER, 3H, 4BB, 15K). LP: Lenning (3 IP, 2R, 2ER, 3H, 4BB, 5K).
Leading hitters: Montesano – Liv Robinson (2-5, 2B, 2R, RBI); Stanfield (2-3, R, 5 SB); Parkin (2-4, 2RBI); Kersker (2-4, RBI, 2 SB); Wisdom (2-4, RBI); Wintrip (1-2, 2R). LC – Lenning (1-3, 2B, 3RBI); Brink (1-3); Terpstra (1-3).
