Castle Rock captures state softball title

MOSES LAKE — Softball teams from around the state came to Moses Lake this weekend to compete in the 1A State Softball Championships at the Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex.

Rising to the top of the highly competitive field were the Castle Rock Rockets, who defeated the former 2A powerhouse Montesano Bulldogs 10-9 in the championship game.

Several coaches noted the highly competitive nature of the 2007 tournament. Twelve of the 28 games played were decided by a single run, and another was a 2-run affair that went 10 innings. Both semifinal games, the championship game, and the game for third and fourth places were one-run affairs.

Defending 1A champion Onalaska was ousted in two games, as was perennial SCAC power and 2006 1A runner-up Zillah.

"The level competition at this tournament is great," said Warden coach Wes Richins. "Whoever wins this championship is going to be tough."

Castle Rock opened their tournament with a 5-1 win over the Warden Cougars, then defeated the Lakeside Eagles 6-0 in the quarterfinals. After a razor-thin 1-0 victory over LaCenter the Rockets got into an offensive battle with Montesano in the championship.

The Bulldogs had a even more difficult road to the title game, defeating the Royal Knights 6-1 in their opener to advance to the contest with the Chimacum Cowboys.

Against Chimacum, Montesano scored the game's only run in the eighth inning to move on to the semifinals with a 1-0 win.

Montesano then defeated a talented Chelan squad 4-3 to reach the title game.

Chimacum battled back through the consolation bracket to make into the game for third and fourth places, where they lost to Lakeside 5-4 in eight innings. Lakeside, possibly the biggest surprise of the tournament, finished their regular season with a 14-6 record before getting hot at the right time of the year. The number three seed out of their district tournament, Lakeside lost only to champion Castle Rock. The Eagles avenged a 3-0 district tournament loss to the Chelan Goats with a 4-2 victory in the consolation semifinals.

1A State Softball Championships

Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex

Championship

Castle Rock 10, Montesano 9

Consolation Finals

Lakeside 5, Chimacum 4 (8 inn)

Semifinals

Castle Rock 1, LaCenter 0

Montesano 4, Chelan 3

Consolation Semifinals

Chimacum 3, LaCenter 2 (10 inn)

Lakeside 4, Chelan 2

Consolation Quarterfinals

Chimacum 4, Colfax 0

Lakeside 12, Lynden Christian 2

Consolation Second Round

Chimacum 3, Nooksack Valley 0

Colfax 3, Connell 2

Lynden Christian 4, Cedar Park Christian 3

Lakeside 4, Kettle Falls 1

Championship Quarterfinals

Castle Rock 6, Lakeside 0

LaCenter 6, Lynden Christian 0

Chelan 6, Connell 1

Montesano 1, Chimacum 0 (8 inn)

Consolation First Round

Nooksack Valley 3, Warden 2

Colfax 3, Zillah 0

Cedar Park Christian 5, Onalaska 4

Kettle Falls 5, Royal 3 (10 inn)

Championship First Round

Lakeside 2, Nooksack Valley 0

Castle Rock 5, Warden 1

LaCenter 4, Colfax 1

Lynden Christian 1, Zillah 0

Connell 8, Onalaska 0

Chelan 3, Cedar Park Christian 0

Montesano 6, Royal 1

Chimacum 1, Kettle Falls 0