LACEY — As the day turned to night Saturday, anyone could have written Blue Thunder 14A as the champion on the giant cardboard brackets at the Regional Athletic Complex in Sharpie and no one probably would’ve batted an eye.
The Centralia-based 14-and-under team was ripping through the competition at the Cascades National Championship all week. They cruised to a 6-0 start by a combined score of 65-13, and every game was decided by seven runs or more.
But in the semifinals Saturday night and the title game Sunday morning, the Blue Thunder were pushed to the brink and never folded.
In the semis against Northwest Illusion, a team the Blue Thunder beat 13-2 in the opener on Thursday, the Blue Thunder led 7-2 after three innings before finding themselves trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the fifth, which ended up being the final frame.
They struggled mightily on defense, giving up a total of nine errors, including seven in the infield. But the Blue Thunder loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth with one out, and Centralia High School rising sophomore Antonia Saucedo hit a pop fly to right field, allowing Katelynne Jones to score the tying run from third.
The throw home sailed into the fence behind home plate, and Tayler Harpel came around to score the winning run to send the Blue Thunder into Sunday’s title game. The Blue Thunder’s next opponent, the Tacoma Select, was considered by some to be the favorite entering the 14U tournament.
“We kinda wanted to change that,” Napavine High School soon-to-be sophomore Dakota Lyons said.
The Blue Thunder left no doubt as to who the best team in the 14U bracket was, defeating the Tacoma Select 4-1 Sunday to win the championship. Lyons also left no doubt as to who stood alone as the best player on the field, as she took home the tournament MVP and top pitcher awards.
“I had so much fun this whole weekend. To do it with my favorite people ever, it was so fun,” Lyons said. “I didn’t want to let them down. I was a little nervous, but I knew if I let it get to me, then I probably wouldn’t do as well. I just had to remember to breathe.”
Lyons and her team had a steady blood pressure early in the title game, taking a 3-0 lead through two frames behind Lyons’ two perfect innings. All six batters she faced put the ball in play, and the defense put away all six.
The Blue Thunder were a beneficiary of nine walks in the title match, three of which came in the third inning with one out. But they couldn’t cash in and left the bases loaded. Adna rising sophomore Teagan Baggenstos drove in a run on a sacrifice groundout in the fourth to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Tacoma Select put immense pressure on Lyons and the Blue Thunder defense over the final three innings of crunch time. A pair of singles in the fifth didn’t amount to any runs. With two outs in the sixth, three straight Tacoma Select batters reached to load the bases. The third of which hit a single to center field, but W.F. West rising sophomore Brooklyn Spencer made a clutch throw from the outfield to keep a runner at third.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Baggenstos perfectly played a fly ball to right field for the inning-ending catch to keep the Tacoma Select off the scoreboard.
“A lot of times there’s not much hits out in right field, so it was good to get some action,” Baggenstos said.
The Blue Thunder ran into more trouble in the seventh inning, needing three outs to clinch the title. Lyons allowed a leadoff walk and a double to put two in scoring position.
In a strange sequence, Tacoma’s Annaleigh Free popped a fly ball down the right-field line and landed in foul territory, according to everyone but the Tacoma Select. Both umpires called a foul ball, but the Select celebrated as if it were a two-run double. The officials confirmed the call after a short conference.
The first run of the game for Tacoma eventually came home on a passed ball, but Lyons and her defense came up clutch in the most crucial moment. Lyons struck out the next two batters, and Toutle Lake’s Ella Nicholson cleanly put away a grounder to shortstop to end the game and secure the title.
In a polar opposite performance from Saturday night’s defensive meltdown, the Blue Thunder finished the title match without an error.
“I love this team a lot, so I had no doubt,” Toledo rising sophomore Xtyn Norberg said. “We went into it with no doubt in each other. We kept our mindset on working hard and never giving up.”
Five local athletes helped the Blue Thunder notch the 14U title, including Lyons, Norberg, Baggenstos, Saucedo and Spencer. The latter three are veterans on the team with four years of experience with the Blue Thunder. The title was especially meaningful for Saucedo, the only Centralia High School student athlete on the Centralia-based team.
“It’s really special for us to go through everything together and grow up together,” Saucedo said of her bond with Baggenstos and Spencer.
The reviews from Lyons’ performance this weekend, particularly in the circle, were glowing. But she was also spectacular at the plate, driving in five runs and sending two home runs over the fence. In the title game, she pitched all seven innings and allowed only one run on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. In 16 total innings across four appearances this tournament, she surrendered just two runs and piled up 13 punchouts.
“She’s just an overall great player, and I’m so lucky to have her on my team. I would not want to play against her,” Norberg said of Lyons.
“She always has a smile on her face. She’s always positive,” Baggenstos added. “You can trust her no matter what. She’s our rock. She keeps everyone happy.”
Next up for the Blue Thunder 14A squad is the seventh annual Diamonds Fastpitch Tournament in Kent next weekend.
