Third… no fourth time’s the charm.
It was a more-than-typical first pitch delay in the first of three Swamp Cup softball matchups between Centralia and W.F. West. The original date was April Fool’s Day, not a joke, and rain wiped that date away. Then it was rescheduled for April 2, but no umpires were available.
Spring break came and went, which led to April 14 as the third try to get the game in. Mother Nature decided to interfere once again.
There was no bad weather at Recreation Park on Thursday night, there were two umpires and for W.F. West, there was a little bit of revenge that lingered after Centralia won the season series in 2025.
“Chomping at the bit,” Bearcats head coach Kevin Zylstra said. “We haven’t mentioned last year with the girls at all, but they are very aware of it. They have so much pride in themselves, they just weren’t going to let that happen again.”
So far, so good.
Fueled by a pair of underclassmen in Avery Osborn and Brooklyn Spencer delivering key hits, W.F. West posted its first double digit output in nearly a month with an 11-1, five-inning victory over Centralia.
Coupled with Aberdeen’s setback to Shelton, Zylstra’s bunch occupies the first place spot in the Evergreen Conference, officially one-third of the way through the league.
“We were ready,” junior infielder Gracie Elam said. “Just fight our butts off to get this win and it really meant a lot to us that we came back better and stronger.”
When the lineup sheet was submitted, the Bearcats (8-2, 4-1 EvCo) had four sophomores, three juniors and two freshmen. Not since the 2011 season where they lost in the opening round of the Class 2A state tournament and rebounded to take third have they seen a senior-less starting nine.
Zylstra does see some comparisons from the lineup 15 years ago to the 2026 version.
“The confidence,” he stated. “And (defensively), we play solid.”
Osborn was a junior varsity player last fall, as was shortstop Rayah Middleton for a spurt. Spencer, Tinsley Tobin and Karly Rasmussen are all getting their first cracks for a program trying to get back to Selah after being absent two of the last three years.
Even while watching JV games last year, Elam knew the talent that would soon be in the varsity dugout.
“They have really stepped up into their roles,” she said. “In the beginning of the year, I was really confident in this team.”
Osborn has been on a tear recently, recording multiple hits in her last two games. She bumped up to the leadoff spot and went 3-for-3 with four runs scored and reached base all four times.
Spencer opened the scoring in the bottom of the first on a bases-clearing double down the left field line. Middleton ended the game in the fifth with a double to the gap which enacted the mercy run rule.
W.F. West finished with nine hits and four of them went for extra bases. It broke the game open with a five-run third that featured nine hitters coming to the plate and Osborn ripping a two-run double.
“It was great to see them come out and hit the ball,” Zylstra said. “They did a great job answering the challenge of let’s score a bunch of runs and shorten this game a little bit.”
Centralia (5-4, 2-3) was held to its lowest output of the season. Its lone tally was an Ava Horst RBI double in the third frame. It had two singles each in the fourth and fifth innings, but failed to scratch a run across.
Tigers head coach David Orr felt the approaches were far from ideal against W.F. West ace Taylor Tobin. There were a couple defensive miscues to boot, including a two-out error that led to two runs.
“There was nothing about this that was consistent at all,” Orr stated. “We watched a little film and if we start off in, then (Tobin) usually moves away. We’ve been planning on this game (for awhile), so we had to regroup.
“The girls put in a valiant effort.”
Tobin needed just 64 pitches to toss a complete game with four strikeouts. She ditched her changeup, but threw her curveball and hammered her fastball/riseball combo to induce seven popups.
“Keep them off balance,” Zylstra said. “Taylor was hitting her spots and when she does that, she’s difficult (to beat). We were trying to get Taylor through the game economically.”
Centralia, for just the second time this spring, lost by double figures. It responded with a 3-1 record over the next 11 days. Now after back-to-back setbacks and with Aberdeen up next on the schedule on Friday, Orr believes this could be what the doctor ordered.
“Hopefully this hurts as much as it does,” he said. “Have short memories and play our game.”
W.F West is a month away from being the gracious hosts of the District 4 tournament once again, but it is far from a cakewalk with only three state berths up for grabs and three GSHL teams with winning records as well.
Still, the Bearcats believe they’re nearing their stride with a date versus Tumwater on Friday.
“We’re all one big family,” Elam said.
