State slowpitch preview: Young Mt. Spokane squad claims top 3A seed; four GSL teams in brackets

Last season’s State 3A/2A champion slowpitch softball team from Mt. Spokane was a senior-laden crew and used its No. 2 seed to move through the two-day bracket to upend league rival and No. 1 seed University 18-17 in the dramatic title game.

This year, the Wildcats are hoping their youth will be served.

With just two seniors on the roster, Mt. Spokane went undefeated through league and district to enter state 18-0 and earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which starts Friday at Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima.

“We’ve got a good group of kids who want to work hard every day,” Mt. Spokane coach Carl Adams said. “They want to put time in to softball, and that’s really what it comes down. And they’ve got supportive families, too. Let’s not forget that that’s a big deal.”

“Going into state, we know that we can’t underestimate anyone and that we need to play to our full potential,” Wildcats senior outfielder Lilly Main said. “No matter what, any team is going to come and try to beat us. So, we need to know that we’re there and we’re going to play our hardest.”

The Wildcats begin their title pursuit with a first-round matchup against eighth-seeded Metro League champion Chief Sealth (17-6) Friday at noon. The two other GSL teams in the bracket, second-seeded U-Hi and sixth-seeded Shadle Park, are both on the other side of the bracket.

“There’s good representation (from the GSL),” Adams said. “You know, I won’t be surprised if there’s some success in there for our league, for sure.”

The young Wildcats receive senior leadership from Main and pitcher Sloane Gardner.

“I’ve grown up seeing all the seniors through the years, and it’s a big deal when it’s just the two of us,” Main said. “There’s a lot of underclassmen, so taking that leadership role of showing them the ropes, and making sure that – next year we have a lot of juniors – so making sure that those juniors see what it’s like to be a leader.”

“This is just such an awesome group of girls. Like, we all have really great chemistry together,” Gardner said. “I don’t think leadership comes hard at all because when you love your team, it’s not hard to want to lead them to victory.”

Gardner, an all-league basketball player, grew up with fastpitch but sat out the sport for a couple of seasons to concentrate on basketball in the spring. But she got the itch to play softball again after having Adams as a math teacher her sophomore year, and Gardner decided to take advantage of the opportunity that slowpitch provides in the fall.

“Mr. Adams was like, ‘Sloane, you’re pretty athletic. Why don’t you try pitching?’ ” she said. “And I was like, ‘Well, I didn’t think it required that much athleticism.’ I just kind of got the hang of it and found out how to work my strike zone and find my arc.”

“This was an opportunity for her in the fall to come be a part of a team,” Adams said. “A lot of her friends are out here and for her to pick up a skill that, you know, not everyone wants to pitch in slowpitch – it’s a different skill, and she took a knack to it.”

Mt. Spokane has power up and down the lineup – it has scored 331 runs (18.3 per game) this season – and 13 of their 18 wins have come by 10 or more runs. Juniors Addison Jay, Kaydin Bradeen and Riley Kincaid, and sophomores Emme Bond and Avery Fox provide plenty of punch.

“(Bond) was kind of new to slowpitch as a freshman, and it’s a different game a little bit in terms of the offense,” Adams said. “She played the outfield actually last year as a freshman, but then transitioned to be our shortstop last spring and really settled in this fall to the slowpitch side of things offensively. And then defensively, she’s very good at short.”

At a glance 3A/2A

(2) University (15-4): Led by coach Jon Schuh in his second stint at the helm, the Titans earned the No. 2 seed to the 3A/2A tournament, beating Walla Walla and Ridgeline at district before falling to Mt. Spokane 16-3 in the title game. Three of U-Hi’s four losses this season have come to the Wildcats. Top players: 2B/OF Claire Fulkerson (jr.), INF/P Ella Jensen (so.), 1B Ava Thompson (sr.), OF Kai Coursey (jr.), 2B/OF Grace Schneider (so.). First round: No. 5 Kelso (16-6) at noon.

(6) Shadle Park (12-7): Coach Scott Harmon’s Highlanders edged Ridgeline 5-4 in a District 6 3A/2A elimination game and was awarded the 3A No. 6 seed. Shadle lost the last two of three regular-season games before bouncing back to beat Hermiston (Oregon) in the first round of district. Lost to Mt. Spokane 10-0 in a semifinal. Top players: INF Madi Keon (sr.), UTL Madi Mann (jr.), UTL Mackenzie Duncan (jr.), UTL Laniya Mawdsley-Cabrera (jr.). First round: No. 3 Columbia River (15-3) at noon.

4A

(7) Mead (14-4): The Panthers, coached by Tiffany Casedy, came from 10 runs down to beat Lewis and Clark 17-16 in the District 6 4A second-place game after losing to top-seeded Chiawana 9-5 in the district title game. Mead’s only other losses this season were to Mt. Spokane, Shadle and Ridgeline. Top players: C Jaycee Coffield (jr.), 3B Sophia Carpenter (sr.), SS Hope Murdock (jr.), 2B/P Mia Martin (jr.). First round: No. 2 Skyview (17-1) at 10 a.m.