Warriors end season in second day of state

YAKIMA — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors finished their softball season during the second day of state with a loss against DeSales in the consolation bracket semifinals. Warriors Head Coach Faye Butler said that the girls battled well throughout the tournament. “As a whole, I think the girls did really great and put everything out there,” said Butler. 

The Warriors started off their state bid Friday with a first-round bye as the third seed putting them into the quarterfinals against the Colton Wildcats. ACH started off strong by scoring three runs in the first inning, but as the game went on, Colton gained momentum and scored three runs in the third inning and five runs in the fourth inning.  

ACH scored two more runs later in the game but couldn’t cut into the Wildcat lead and fell into consolation with an 8-5 loss. 

“It was a little bit disappointing for the first game that we lost, but that’s alright,” said Butler. “Everybody’s coming in wanting to win.” 

The next day, ACH returned to the diamond to face the second seed Sunnyside Christian Knights for the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket. The Warriors got on the board first after Lainee Baergen scored after tagging up, but the Knights quickly responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first. 

The Warriors claimed the lead in the top of the second as Josie Bayless doubled to score two runs. ACH added to this lead in the top of the third with RBI singles by Peyton Roberts and Savannah Monson to go up 5-1. 

Sunnyside closed the gap in the bottom of the third when they scored four runs, but ACH reclaimed their lead in the top of the fifth as Monson grounded out to score one run. The Warriors then went on a hot streak as Grace Okamoto singled to score Bayless, Hannah Brummett singled on a fly to score Madison Brink, a single from Emma Brummett scoring S Whitaker and Monson doubling to score Emma Brummett. 

With just one additional run scored by Sunnyside by the end of the game, ACH claimed a 10-6 victory. 

Okamoto stood on the mound for the entire game against Sunnyside where she threw six strikeouts. 

“It was super exciting for that second game to be able to take out the number two team Sunnyside, and the girls came out with lots of energy, lots of fire and really got after it,” said Butler. 

This victory sent the Warriors into the Consolation Semifinals where they faced the DeSales Fighting Irish. DeSales had a strong first inning as they put up four runs and held ACH scoreless. 

The Fighting Irish defensive play proved to be dominant throughout the game as they held the Warriors scoreless throughout the game and tacked on runs in the fourth fifth and sixth innings. ACH finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as Dani Isaak hit a sacrifice fly to left field and scored Emma Brummett and Baergen singled on a fly to score Peyton Roberts, but were unable to close the 11-run deficit and were eliminated 13-2 in consolation. 

During the final game, Okamoto pitched all six innings where she threw three strikeouts. 

Even though the girls did not get as far as they had hoped, Butler said it was still a great experience for all the players. With this being the second time making state for the large group of juniors on the team, this will help them grow and be prepared for when they battle to get back to state next season.  

Next season, the team will see the return of Dani Isaak, Josie Bayless, Madison Brink, Grace Okamoto, Grace Erickson and Lanie Baergen for their senior seasons, where the coach said they’ll all be hungry to get back to state. 

“Just for them to really see how much work it does take to be in that championship game and to be in those placement rounds, I know that they will be wanting to get into those placement rounds,” she said.  

The Warriors will be losing two seniors in the offseason, Emma Brummett and Peyton Roberts. Butler said both girls showed great versatility in their time on the softball team, which contributed to the success throughout the season. 

The coach said Roberts started out in the outfield as a sophomore but eventually was moved to both first and second bases where she was a dominant force on the diamond. For Brummett, she was also moved around quite a bit throughout her career but was most notably a powerhouse behind the bat. 

In the final inning of their game against DeSales in the state tournament, both seniors had strong at bats. 

“They just so happened to be back to back and it was the last up to bat and I was like, ‘Ah man, I hope they get hits,’ and they both got great hits to end their season off, so that was super exciting,” said Butler. 

She said both seniors are leaving behind a strong legacy of leadership that the younger players could build on as they work to bring the team together. 

The future of softball for ACH is looking bright as they return a large group of experienced players, including starting catcher Abbi Edwards who was out with an injury this season, and have prospects for skilled upcoming players that will be brought onto the varsity roster next season. With all that they learned from this season, the coach said she expects to return next season with an even stronger team. 

“The girls were working really hard for the season and really giving their all,” said Butler. “I think for them being at state the year before, they were really looking forward to this year, and it just gives them a lot of fire to work harder in practice.” 

BOX SCORES: 

QUARTERFINALS 

CLTN: 0-0-3-5-0-0-0: 8 

ACHW: 3-0-0-0-0-2-0: 5 

CONSOLATION QUARTERS 

SNNY: 1-0-4-0-0-1-0: 6 

ACHW: 1-2-2-0-1-4-0: 10  

CONSOLATION SEMIS 

DSLS: 4-0-0-2-2-5-x: 13 

ACHW: 0-0-0-0-0-2-x: 2 

    ACH senior Peyton Roberts gets ready to throw the ball to first base to tag out the opposing runner in the state tournament.
  

    Lanie Baergen a junior from ACH slides into home plate to score a run against Colton in the state tourney Friday afternoon.
  

    Warriors junior Madison Brink sprints to first base after making a hit in the state tournament Friday.
  

    Grace Okamoto, an ACH junior, slings a pitch at the opposing batter in the state tournament over the weekend.
  

    ACH sophomore Hannah Brummett gets ready as the catcher behind the opposing Colton batter Friday in the state tourney.