Those top line accomplishments, the ones intended to capture attention and sell you better than others that want the same ending you do? The Puyallup High School Vikings softball team spent Saturday at Kent Service Fields adding to those lines.
In the end, their efforts left them standing alone atop the Class 4A West Central/Southwest district as its champion after a thriller of a nine-inning title victory, 8-5, over school district rival Emerald Ridge.
Puyallup swept the valley to earn its first district title since 2019. Before staving off a furious late rally from the Jaguars in a title game that required extra innings to decide things, the Vikings needed a late rally of their own to get past crosstown rival Rogers, 5-4, in their semifinal game.
Puyallup scored twice in the bottom of the seventh just to earn its spot in the championship game. Meanwhile, Emerald Ridge scored the first seven runs of its semifinal against Skyview and held on for a 9-5 victory to make the title game.
“It’s about developing your resume,” Puyallup coach Alec Elliott said. “We hadn’t really had a good come-from-behind win yet. And I didn’t know if they could do it or not. They just keep proving me wrong.”
Puyallup’s come-from-behind victory set up the third meeting of the season between the Vikings (21-4) and Jaguars (18-6). Emerald Ridge won both regular season matchups, which gave the Jaguars the top seed to the district tournament after each was 14-4 in the South Puget Sound League this season.
In the district final, though, it was Puyallup who jumped on Jaguars starter Alanna Wirtala early as the Vikings scored three times after two were out in the first inning, eventually increasing the advantage to 5-0 on Kyra Smith’s leadoff home run in the fifth.
It was Smith’s third homer of the day after she hit two against Rogers.
Emerald Ridge finally got to Puyallup starter Lauren Krick for a single run in the bottom of that inning, cutting the lead to 5-1. A Smith error in the sixth helped along a two-run rally that cut the margin to 5-3 before third baseman Lillian Stariha singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to score two and tie the championship up at 5-5.
Neither team scored in the eighth which brought the ninth-inning ghost runner rule into play, where each team begins with a runner at second base. The Vikings parlayed that advantage into a three-run rally in the top half of the inning, getting RBI sacrifice bunts from Amori Hargrove and Raquel Thomas, sandwiching an RBI single from Krick.
When it Emerald Ridge got its chance, Puyallup catcher Taryn Takayoshi fielded a wild pitch from Izzy Welch in relief off the backstop, turned and threw out Jayda Guadron at third as the Jaguar catcher attempted to steal the base.
It took two more outs to finish it, but any further come-back threat had been quashed.
Takayoshi had a big title game with a first-inning double that drove in two of the three early runs and a third-inning single that drove in her third run of the game.
“We really pulled it off,” Takayoshi said. “We could have done better hitting in the middle of the game, but I think we all got tired. We won two games that were really 50-50, probably could go either way later. I think it helped us that we won all those games.”
The Vikings will be the top seed from Districts 3 and 4 to state. The Jaguars are No. 2.
Those two will be joined at the state tournament by Skyview, Rogers, Kentwood, Battle Ground and Olympia. All will find out on Sunday who they play first on Friday morning in the state tournament at Columbia Playfields in Richland.
CLASS 3A
Peninsula 2, Bonney Lake 0
Seahawks ace Alli Kimball tossed a complete game shutout and center fielder Malia Coit launched two solo home runs to lift Peninsula to a repeat district title at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.
After besting the Panthers, 5-2, in this game a season ago, the Seahawks made it two consecutive championships against their West Central District rivals on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
This is also the first time Peninsula has won back-to-back district titles in program history.
“It’s so exciting to be a part of the first team to ever do this, and everyone today had each other’s back, so that just made it all the sweeter,” Kimball said.
“For these girls, setting a precedent like this, what a great thing,” Seahawks coach Mike Paul said. “Confidence going in (to the state tournament) — they’ve got to be glowing. … They’re amazing kids. It’s been a fun ride. I’m just so proud of them. It’s all them.”
Peninsula and Bonney Lake — who repeated as 3A South Sound Conference and 3A Pierce County League champions this spring — were locked in a scoreless tie through three frames, with both Kimball and Panthers starter Alissa Hermansen limiting base runners throughout the contest.
Coit’s leadoff home run over the center field fence in the fourth gave Peninsula’s the game’s first and only lead.
“That momentum just keeps carrying us through the game,” Coit said.
The Seahawks’ junior center fielder added another solo homer to center with one out in the sixth — her fourth of the day after also clearing the fence twice in Peninsula’s semifinals win over Yelm earlier in the afternoon.
“I think I was just seeing the ball well and staying relaxed at the plate,” Coit said.
After allowing four singles across the first, second and fourth, Kimball retired the final nine Bonney Lake batters in order after Coit gave the Seahawks the lead.
Kimball was brilliant in seven complete innings, allowing four hits while striking out nine.
“She was stronger at the end than the beginning,” Paul said. “She just was dominant. Dominant. It was awesome.”
The senior right-hander also tossed a five-inning complete game against Yelm in the semifinals victory, earning the win.
Peninsula (22-2) enters next week’s state tournament on an 18-game winning streak, and has not lost to a 3A opponent this season. The Seahawks’ only two losses this season are to 4A state contenders Jackson and Bothell in late March.
The Panthers (20-5), who had not lost an in-classification game until Saturday’s loss to Peninsula, will also return to the state playoffs next week.
Both programs are expected to contend in a talented field, which will be seeded by WIAA committee Sunday.
“This district is loaded and the state is loaded,” Paul said. “It’s really impressive.”
Yelm, Heritage, Evergreen of Vancouver, Gig Harbor and Timberline also advance from the 3A West Central/Southwest district bracket.
CLASS 1A
Bellevue Christian 11, Cascade Christian 1 (5 innings)
The 1A West Central District’s top seed lived up to the billing and hoisted the tournament’s trophy on Saturday night.
Bellevue Christian plated four runs in the first inning and cruised to victory over Cascade Christian via run-rule at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.
Bellevue Christian’s Jelly Davies tossed a five-inning, one-run complete game. The sophomore starter surrendered four hits and three walks, but whiffed four and added a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.
Davies helped her own cause in the fourth inning, plating senior Natalie Curran on a single to right field.
Curran was 4-for-4; Bellevue Christian’s catcher scored three runs and drove in two.
Cascade Christian catcher Addison Fredericks drove in the Cougars’ run on an RBI double in the fourth.
Bellevue Christian’s district title puts the Vikings in the state tournament at the Columbia Playfield in Richland from May 25-27.