There were four games happening at Fort Borst Park as the first day of the Class 2B District 4 tournament wrapped up. All eyes were on Field 2.
It wasn’t just that the Adna High School softball team was losing. It lost in five innings to an upstart Raymond/South Bend squad that got hot at the right time.
In the blink of an eye, the C2BL regular season champs went from the district title favorites to their backs against the wall.
“It was a wake up warning,” senior catcher Danika Hallom said. “We aren't like last year or the year before. We did need to fight more.”
Whatever message was relayed, it was well received.
Adna proceeded to reel off six straight victories – the last two needed to take third in districts and four in Yakima – that allowed it to capture its third consecutive state championship at the Gateway Sports Complex.
The first three-peat ever by a 2B school came from the one program that has dominated the classification since it went down from 1A in the early-2000s. The Pirates have been responsible for seven state titles since 2B started in 2002, breaking a tie with Toutle Lake.
“We were doing a lot of good things at the right time,” Adna head coach Bruce Pocklington said. “So excited for the girls. They have put their time in.”
Hallom, Kendall Humphrey and Gaby Guard, the core of seniors responsible for raising the ceiling in girls athletics at Adna, were all emotional after the final out was recorded in the 10-6 win over Freeman.
Humphrey and Guard started crying before the trophy even touched their hands. Hallom admitted to crying during a circle visit with pitcher Avery Lafontaine.
The emotions were paramount. And the common theme was that this one was the most challenging.
“We knew it wasn’t going to come easy, the past few years have been a breeze,” Guard said. “We had to work a lot harder.”
From the start of the season, there were questions about whether a three-peat was possible.
LaFontaine was thrust into the ace role as a sophomore with very little varsity pitching experience. Underclassmen were littered with starters that had to prove themselves. The C2BL didn’t lose much talent from 2024.
Most were answered.
The right-hander was steady in the circle and pitched dominant when needed to help an offense that started to hum in league play. Sophomores like Alyssa Carroll and Khloe Hunt plus freshmen Hadleigh Gerard and Brytin Dollarhyde began to establish themselves as key hitters.
And the league? Adna still came away as the top team.
“We had to have our bats and that’s OK because we did exactly that,” Hallom said.
Yet it was the district semifinal loss to RSB, 10-0 in five, that served as the turning point.
It was errors that doomed the Pirates in that contest and some more errors came in moments that put them behind on the scoreboard at state.
Rather than wilt, they embraced it.
“We took care of business,” LaFontaine said.
What makes the season script end almost to an unbelievable level was that the final out was made by Karsyn Freeman.
Yes, in her first year playing softball, Freeman was a starter in the outfield for the Pirates. She doubled up with track and field this spring to get one more shot at a team state title.
And after the runner-up finishes in volleyball and girls basketball, Freeman was able to soak in victory with her four classmates that were by her side.
“It’s been a blast having her with us,” Guard said.
“We talk about not liking second place,” Pocklington added. “It has been such a neat deal.”
LaFontaine and eighth grader Teagan Baggenstos, who pitched in the state semifinal win, will anchor the pitching staff next spring. Gerard, Carroll and Hunt will return in the infield and Lena McCloskey is expected back in the outfield.
The cupboard is far from bare.
So, is there a four-peat on deck?
“If we work hard and keep the bats rolling, we’ll be good,” LaFontaine said.
