Richer's Two Homers Punch Lake Stevens Softball's Ticket to State Tourney
Lake Stevens and Jackson go 4-0 Monday, earning trips to state as Kamiak and Glacier Peak face loser-out games Thursday. Game recaps and Wesco notebook inside.
EVERETT — Senior WWU-commit McKenna Richer homered twice, doubled twice and drove in four runs over two games Monday as Lake Stevens softball punched a ticket to the WIAA 4A State Tournament with a pair of victories in the WesKing District Tournament at Phil Johnson Field in Everett.
Lake Stevens 8 Juanita 2 - Final
After nabbing the fourth and final Wesco seed, the Viks weren’t afforded the luxury of a bye as they were last season. Monday, Lake needed to beat Juanita in an opening-round 4:00 pm matchup to avoid a near-impossible slog through the loser’s bracket of the 12-team bi-district tournament.Â
And beat Juanita they did, with senior Charli Pugmire continuing a dominant run from the circle, earning the complete game victory, scattering two earned runs and striking out six.Â
Rightfielder McKenna Richer went 3 for 4 from the leadoff spot, smacking a homer and two doubles, driving in two.Â
Sophomore catcher Alaina Emme added three hits, freshman shortstop Reese Breckenridge had two hits including a double and a stolen base, Emerson Cummins hit her team-leading sixth homer and Alexis Osterholtz added a three-run bomb.Â
Pugmire moved to 8-5 on the season, lowering her ERA to 2.33.Â
Over her last five starts, Pugmire has been as good as any pitcher in the state.
The righty is 4-1 with just six earned runs allowed over 33.2 innings pitched – good for a 1.26 ERA over the stretch run. And the one loss? That’s when Pugmire pitched 10 innings but took the L despite not allowing a single earned run in Lake’s 1-0 extra inning loss to Glacier Peak.
Centerfielder Alyssa Anderson added a great play from the field, notching an outfield assist, cutting down a would-be Juanita run at the plate, with Emme applying a perfect sweep tag.
After a season and a half of error-plagued defense, the Viks may have turned a corner – Lake didn’t commit an error over 14 innings of defense Monday.Â
Lake Stevens 5 Redmond 3 – FinalÂ
After dispatching Juanita, Lake had six minutes to prepare for first pitch versus Redmond in a winner-to-state contest.
No problem for the Viks.
Lake’s McKenna Richer was ready to go at precisely 6:00 pm, smoking the first pitch of the game deep over the left centerfield fence, up over the berm and onto a gravel path some 30 feet uphill from the base of the fence.
It was Richer’s second bomb of the afternoon — and one of her four extra base hits on the day.
She leads the team with 15 extra base hits.Â
Lake manufactured another run after freshman Reese Breckenridge reached on catcher’s interference, stole second (her team leading 15th steal of the season) and scored on Alexis Osterholtz’ two out RBI single.Â
Lake would never give up the lead, notching a 5-3 win over Redmond behind a complete game, 11-strikeout performance from senior starter Mara Sivley.Â
Things did get a little iffy as Redmond closed to within one after five innings, but Richer came through again with a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth, giving Sivley a two run cushion for the final six outs.
Sivley allowed just on base runner in each of the final two innings, snuffing out any hopes of a Redmond rally.
Richer was 2 for 4 with a homer, knocking in two.
Richer’s five hits on the afternoon leave her just one short of 100 for her four year varsity career.
The Bellingham-bound slugger upped her average to .413 on the season.
Breckenridge added two more hits, a run and a steal.
Cora Quintel had a two hit game with an RBI and a run scored.
Emme had another hit, adding to her team leading total of 35. Emme is batting .480 on the season.Â
Sivley moved to 6-2 on the season with a team-leading 119 strikeouts over 71.1 innings pitched. Scattering three earned runs over the seven innings maintained Sivley’s ERA at 2.76 for the year.Â
Up Next: Lake Stevens vs Issaquah, Wednesday 6:00 pm (Phil Johnson Field)
Last year, a promising season sputtered out over a tough week at the district playoffs. This year, momentum is building late.
Viking fastpitch rides a seven game win streak into Wednesday’s semifinal matchup with 20-3 Issaquah, ranked third in the state.
Both teams are through to State, the winner will face the victor from the Jackson and Skyline matchup.Â
Wesco Fastpitch Notebook
Wesco’s top four teams were in heavy rotation Monday at the four field Phil Johnson complex in Everett, with Lake Stevens, Jackson and Kamiak all playing twice and Glacier Peak playing once. Lake and Jackson went a combined 4-0 and are both through to State.Â
Jackson made short work of Mount Si (7-2) and Newport (8-2) with UW-bound senior Allie Thomsen handling every pitch of the doubleheader.Â
Kamiak dispatched top-seeded North Creek 8-1 behind a dominant 11-strikeout start from junior lefty Synclair Mawudeku before losing a walk-off to Skyline 8-7 in the nightcap.
Senior center fielder Tyler Karabach hit for the cycle on the day, going 2 for 3 with a double, triple and RBI in the win over North Creek, followed by a 2 for 4 performance in the loss to Skyline, during which Karabach helped bring Kamiak back from a 4-0 deficit with a clutch three-run homer. Karabach was 4-7 on the afternoon with a homer, triple, double and a single, plus four runs batted in.
The Knights play Mount Si Wednesday in a winner to state, loser out contest.Â
Glacier Peak sat out the opening round thanks to a bye earned through their regular season Wesco title. Issaquah sent GP to the loser’s bracket with an 8-7 nailbiter. Issaquah gets Lake in the semis, the Grizzlies face a winner-to-State / loser out contest against Juanita Wednesday.
Wesco’s Top Playoff Performers
Allie Thomsen (Senior pitcher, Jackson) – pitched Jackson to two complete game victories, covering 14 innings, allowing a total of four earned runs, striking out 21 – and tossing 213 pitches on the day.
McKenna Richer (Senior outfielder, Lake Stevens) – 5 for 8 with two home runs, two doubles and four runs batted in.Â
Tyler Karabach (Senior, outfield, Kamiak) – Hit for the cycle over two games Monday, going 4 for 7 on the day with a three run homer, a triple, double and four total runs batted in.Â