Warden softball district champion

EAST WENATCHEE - The Cougars had two weeks off after claiming the North Central Washington 2B league title May 5.

But the layoff didn't have much of an impact on Warden as the team beat Pateros 9-4 May 19 in a semifinal game, then blew past Kittitas 14-1 in the final match up to bring home the district trophy.

"This is our third district championship in a row (first was in 1A) and our second undefeated league season in a row, but we are not satisfied with those stats," coach Wes Richins said. "We have adopted an old saying, 'We did not come this far, just to come this far.  We have been to state eight of the last 10 years, but have never really made a big dent.  We want to leave the 2B's with something to remember.'"

Warden 9

Pateros 4

The game between the Cougars and the Nannies was scoreless through the first two and a half innings. Warden took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third.

The Cougars put four more runs on the board in the fourth inning to stretch the score to 7-0. Pateros answered back with two in the top of the fifth, and two in the sixth the close the gap to 7-4.

Warden stretched its lead to 9-4 with two runs in the bottom of the inning, then held the Nannies off the scoreboard in the seventh to win by five. Iris Rodriguez (12-1) got the win for Warden, going the distance while striking out six Pateros batters. She also had the hot bat for the Cougars with two hits in four plate appearances with a triple, a home run and three RBI.

Tawnie Gonsalez was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, Brenda DeLeon had one hit in three at bats with a double, and Bianca Hernandez finished with two RBI.

"After not playing for two weeks, the lady Cougars were a little rusty coming out of the gate, but were able to turn away a pesky Pateros team," Richins said. "They have a good little left-handed freshman pitcher who threw pretty hard.  It took us one time through the line up to adjust to her, but then we got on her. Pateros made a little run to cut the lead 7-4, then Iris belted a two run home run to seal the deal."

Warden 14

Kittitas 1

The district championship game against the Coyotes wasn't much of a contest considering what was on the line for both teams. Warden jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings of play. The Cougars blew the game open with an eight run fourth to win in a cakewalk and claim the tournament bragging rights. Rodriguez picked up the win again for Warden. Haley Yamane had the big stick for the Cougars with three hits in four at bats with a home run and two RBI. Mixey Gonzalez was 2-for-2 with a double, and Gonsalez had three hits in four attempts and stole three bases.

"Its hard to beat a good team three times in a row, but we have done it a fourth time against Kittitas this season," Richins said. "On paper they match up with us well, but we just happened to have their number this year.  They have some big bats and some speed and a good pitcher, but we just kept coming and coming and finally they started imploding a bit. Iris did a great job keeping them from rallying too much."

Richins said this year's squad is the best hitting team Warden has ever fielded, and hopes the Cougars pitching and defense can keep the team rolling at state.

 "We come from a weaker league and so we are still an underdog," he said. "Hopefully we can sneak up on some teams and bring back a trophy."

The state tournament gets underway Friday at the Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima.