Moses Lake wins fourth straight district title

MOSES LAKE — The hardest part of Moses Lake’s afternoon might have been actually receiving its trophies.

Players milled around home plate while athletic secretary Jennifer Gaddis searched for scissors, a knife, anything to free the Columbia Basin Big Nine championship trophy from its plastic wrap. Eventually, it was wrestled free to pair with the District 6 Tournament trophy.

Both pieces of hardware were awarded to the Chiefs for the fourth season in a row. The league title was wrapped up weeks ago, while the district championship was added on Saturday.

Marnie Skinner was her usual dominant self from the circle — still no earned runs allowed — and Moses Lake drove in three runs in the fifth inning for the less dramatic walk-off win 10-0 against West Valley.

“Honestly, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Sierra Perales said. “It’s kind of bittersweet because it’s the last time I’ll ever step on the field wearing my Chief jersey, but it’s also not the last game I’ll ever play so it was a huge success.”

West Valley earned a spot in the championship game and a state tournament berth after out-slugging Eisenhower 16-13 in the semifinal. However, it was Moses Lake that did all the slugging in the finals.

The Chiefs were aggressive early and first-pitch swinging. Mikaela Francisco led off the first inning with a triple and was later driven in on a fielder’s choice by Tia Radach. Radach was able to later come around when a line drive by Nikea Holman was dropped in the outfield.

Skinner cruised through the first three innings, recording six strikeouts. She helped her own cause with an inside-the-park home run in the home half of the third and Peyton Ries drove in Holman on a sacrifice fly to put Moses Lake ahead 4-0.

West Valley threatened in the fourth inning, advancing runners to second and third base with no outs. But, as she’s done all season, Skinner extinguished the Rams with three strikeouts in a row.

Allyson Conrad’s lead-off single in the fourth was West Valley’s only hit.

“When she gets a runner in scoring position she just buckles down and usually strikes out the next batter,” head coach Dave Gregory said. “To only go five innings in a district championship game is huge.”

Moses Lake ended the game with three RBI singles each in the fourth and fifth inning — Francisco, Holman and Ries accounting for the fourth-inning flurry.

Radach, Skinner and Holman drove in the next three runs in the fifth inning to clinch. Radach scored the final run and, as she closed in on home plate, Gregory raised his arms in celebration.

“You can see what them line-drive singles do,” Gregory said. “They tear it up and then Skinner hits one that gets by the right fielder. That should be a single and she gets an inside-the-parker so them line-drives I just love them.”