Maverick slowpitch takes fourth at state

YAKIMA — Moses Lake left last weekend’s 4A Slowpitch Softball State Tournament with hardware, as the Mavericks took fourth place in the classification with a 2-2 record at the tournament.

“Looking back, when the dust settles, that’ll be something they can definitely hang their hat on,” Moses Lake head coach Mike Hofheins said. 

The Mavericks earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament, setting up a first-round matchup against No. 6 Woodinville on Friday morning. Despite the early start to the game, the Maverick offense got rolling quickly by scoring 12 runs through the first two innings of the game. Moses Lake later scored nine runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, leading to a 21-0 opening-round win. 

Junior Alina Lopez paced the Mavericks with four hits and seven RBI in the win. 

“I just think we were ready to play,” Hofheins said. “The girls were ready to play and excited, and the hits are contagious. Once we got rolling, it just went from there. We had a big offensive day, played some good defense – it was a great start.” 

Moses Lake qualified for the state tournament in each of the previous two seasons but lost in the opening round both times; Friday’s win snapped that streak. 

“Everyone at state is good, and it kind of depends on who’s hot,” Hofheins said. “It was good to get started early, get rolling. We just kind of fed off of one another.” 

Facing No. 7 Mead in the state semifinals, who upset No. 2 Skyview 15-13 in the opening round, Moses Lake quickly took a 9-3 lead in the bottom of the second inning, with a seven-run inning being capped off by a two-run homer by sophomore Amelia Avalos. However, the lead was short-lived; Mead tied the game at nine in the top of the fourth, to which Moses Lake responded by scoring five in the bottom of the same inning to take a 14-9 lead. 

Mead scored five runs in the top of the sixth and seven in the top of the seventh to recapture the lead, holding on for a 21-18 win over Moses Lake. 

Junior Hayden Morris hit two home runs in the loss, while Avalos and senior Eryn Eckenberg also hit a home run for Moses Lake. 

“In slowpitch, no lead is safe,” Hofheins said. “You might have a 10-run lead, but you’re kicking yourself for not having an 11-run lead. We didn’t put them away and allowed them to hang around. To their credit, they got back into it.” 

The loss dropped Moses Lake into the third/fourth-place bracket, where they matched up with No. 4 Juanita on Saturday morning. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning, the Mavericks quickly gained the lead on a two-RBI double by junior Amilia Borchert and held on for a 9-5 win over the Ravens. 

Eckenberg led the Mavericks with three hits, while juniors Hayden Morris and Addisyn Reffett both drove in two runs in the win. 

“There’s no undo button, so you just have to refocus and play for third (place),” Hofheins said. “So, we did. We had a little slow start in the early part of the game – we didn’t play our best softball that particular game, but we found a way to win.” 

The win moved Moses Lake into the third/fourth-place game, where they met a familiar opponent; the Eastmont Wildcats. It was the fourth time the two teams had faced one another this season, with Moses Lake winning the most recent matchup – a 21-7 win in the Columbia Basin Big 9 district championship game on Oct. 19. 

Eastmont, the No. 5 seed, snatched the momentum early in Saturday’s game, putting 10 runs on the scoreboard through the first two innings. While Moses Lake had a late rally, the early deficit was too much to overcome as the Mavericks lost 17-10. 

“When you have a big top of the first, you can take the wind out of somebody’s sails,” Hofheins said. “They probably did that to us by scoring six there in the top of the first before we even had the chance to hold the bat. That was tough, and credit to them, they earned those six runs. They had legit hits.” 

With the loss to Eastmont, Moses Lake finished in fourth place in the 4A classification. It’s Moses Lake’s second placement at the state slowpitch softball tournament, having previously taken fourth in 2019. 

“At the beginning of the season, if you said you’re going to be in the top four at state, that’s obviously a pretty great accomplishment,” Hofheins said. “I’d be lying if I said the girls weren’t disappointed because they had their sights set on the championship game, and it just didn’t happen for us, but to be fourth in the state and to bring home hardware is great and something to be proud of.” 

The takeaway for the returning Moses Lake players will be that “You can’t ever take your foot off the gas,” Hofheins said.  

The Mavericks will lose three seniors off of this season’s roster; seniors Jenika Balderas, Paige Richardson and Eckenberg. 

“We’re losing three seniors who are really key pieces to our team, but I think we’re going to be pretty solid next year as well,” Hofheins said.  

Box scores 

vs Woodinville 

WOOD: 0-0-0-0-0 0 

MSLK: 5-7-0-9-X 21 

vs Mead 

MEAD: 0-3-3-3-0-5-7 21 

MSLK: 2-7-0-5-0-2-2 18 

vs Juanita 

JNTA: 1-1-0-0-3-0-0 5 

MSLK: 0-6-1-1-0-1-X 9 

vs Eastmont 

ESTM: 6-4-0-3-3-0-1 17 

MSLK: 0-0-3-0-4-1-2 10 

    Moses Lake junior Hayden Morris smiles while running the bases after hitting a home run against Eastmont on Oct. 19. Morris hit two home runs against Mead in the semifinals.
  

    Moses Lake junior Alina Lopez (20) hit two home runs in the opening round game against Woodinville on Friday.
  

    This season saw Moses Lake slowpitch softball team earn a share of the Columbia Basin Big 9 league title, win a district championship and take fourth at the state tournament.