Winning was an elementary matter in the first outing of the season for the South Kitsap Wolves softball team, which dominated the Curtis Vikings 18-0 at home March 15.
After the final out, the game ending early due to the fifth-inning mercy rule, the sights of the Wolves turned to their next matchup in a season that feels even more “state or bust” than years past.
Coach Bobby Lawrence believes his team is taking the field with a chip on its shoulder. “I’ve got some fantastic seniors that are really dedicated to what we want the culture to be,” he said.
The Wolves found themselves “juiced out” as Lawrence put it at the end of the 2023 campaign, losing a three-run lead in districts and falling to Olympia in extra innings. That loss left SK one game short of a potential state berth.
Fast forward to 2024 and seniors such as Kamdyn Hagerty, a commit to Colorado Mesa University for softball, came out raring to get back on the field. “Bobby’s always like we’re going to state this year,” she said, “but as long as we work hard and go as far as we can…instead of we just lose, and we’re like, ‘Whatever.’”
Hagerty made the most of her first pitching appearance of the season. After giving up a lead-off double that fell at the base of the outfield fence, she struck out the side. She also fanned three in the second, and by the end of the fourth inning, 11 batters had been sent walking to the dugout on strikeouts. Senior Shelby Avery struck out a pair of her own in a scoreless fifth to close out the game.
Hagerty attributed her success to hard offseason work getting to control the strike zone. “I’ve been working more on trying to be consistent with all of my pitches, ‘cause last year, I feel like I was just throwing a lot of different pitches and not 100 percent on my pitches,” she said. “This year, I’m better at putting my pitches in the spot that I want.”
As for their 18 runs, it was an outright RBI party for the Wolves. Hagerty brought in the first two on a no-doubt home run in the first, and sophomore Mia Colby added a third run on an RBI single later in the inning. SK padded its lead and then some, batting around the lineup to bring 12 base runners across home plate. Curtis gave up three more runs in the third to end the scoring.
Junior Ronan Byrd, who recorded her only hit in her final of four plate appearances, led the Wolves with four RBI. Junior Reagan Dale went 3-4 with three RBI. Eight players drove at least one run in, and 10 players recorded a hit.
“We’ll see if we can sustain it,” in the competitive South Puget Sound League, Lawrence said. “Like I’ve always said, the SPSL 4A is the toughest division in the state.”
Freshman Maleah Sawyers returns to second base.
