LACEY — On third base with one out in extra innings, Trojans softballer Kiki Mitchell coiled up like a sprinter at the starting blocks. When a shallow fly ball hit the glove of the Eatonville center fielder, she was off for the plate.
Mitchell slid into home and the catcher’s legs, beating the throw from center and scoring the go-ahead run that put Olympic girls back in the state softball tournament for the first time since 2015.
The Trojans play at noon on Friday, May 25, at Carlon Park in Selah.
“I just put my faith into coach Jess and I went,” Mitchell said following the game.
It was the icing on the cake for a phenomenal pitchers’ duel between Olympic’s Dani Snyder and Eatonville’s Baley Porter. Runs were at a premium in the extremely well-played 2-1 contest on May 18. Both starters put up zeroes over the first six innings, making it clear teams would have to manufacture a run or two in order to win the game.
“We started making some adjustments, putting the ball in play instead of up in the air, so we made a couple of things happen,” head coach Jessica Cabato said.
The Trojans got one the easy way in the top of the seventh. Morgan Kroesser sent a pitch well over the fence in center field to give her team a 1-0 lead. But what goes around, comes around, and Eatonville’s Brooklynn Lucht tagged a homer of her own in the bottom of the inning to once again tie the game.
Snyder gave up another hit that inning, but then calmly retired the side and sent the game into extra innings.
“She doesn’t really let things bug her,” Cabato said. “She’s able to refocus, come back strong and go after the next batter. It’s definitely a strength she’s shown over the last couple of years.”
Mitchell reached first in the top of the eighth and then stole second. The throwdown went into the outfield and Mitchell wound up on the third base. Ashlyn Morris — better known to teammates as “Mo” — hit a fly ball that did not make it very far into the outfield, but it was enough to get Mitchell home safely.
Snyder went back out for the eighth and struck out two of the three hitters she faced to end the game.
The Trojans trounced River Ridge, 14-5, in their first game on May 18. Sadie Chipley went 3 for 3 and hit a monster two-run homer. Mitchell reached base in four out of five plate appearances and scored all four times. Molly Gates recorded three hits, including a triple, and Morris drove in a pair of runs on two singles.
Olympic had a rematch with Port Angeles on May 19 in the district semifinals but lost, 14-8. The team regrouped and beat Fife, 15-9, to finish third.
Olympic 2, Eatonville 1 (8 innings)
Oly 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 — 2 7 0
Etn 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 7 0
WP: Snyder LP: Porter
Pitching
Olympic — Snyder 8 IP, 7 H, BB, 4 K.
Eatonville — Porter 8 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 5 K.
Hitting
Olympic — Kroesser 1-4, HR, R, RBI; Morris 1-2, RBI; K. Mitchell 2-4, R, SB; Gates 2-4, 2B.
Eatonville — Lucht 1-3, HR, RBI; Koszykowski 1-4, 2B; Miller 1-3, 2B; Coleman 1-2, BB; Rath 1-3.
Olympic 14, River Ridge 5
RR 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 — 5 11 5
Oly 1 6 4 0 2 1 x — 14 18 0
WP: Kroesser LP: Hall
Pitching
River Ridge — Hall 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 1 ER, 4 BB; Tara 4 1/3 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 5 ER, K.
Olympic — Kroesser 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB, 4 K; Snyder 2 IP, 3 H, K.
Hitting
River Ridge — Doyle-Folks 2-3, 3B, 2 R, BB, 2 RBI; Attwood 3-4, 2B, 2 R; Goetsch 2-4, 2B, RBI; Tomkins 1-4, 2B, RBI.
Olympic — Chipley 3-3, HR, BB, 3 RBI; Gates 3-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI; K. Mitchell 3-4, 4 R, 2 SB, BB; Cabato 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI; Graf 3-3, 2B, R, RBI; Kroesser 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI; Morris 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI.
