TUMWATER — Four words after three innings resembled a battle cry for the W.F. West High School softball team.
They were deadlocked in a pitcher’s duel between their ace Taylor Tobin and Tumwater’s Division I recruit Ella Ferguson. Only Gracie Elam reached base the first time through the lineup.
Prior to the first pitch of the top of the fourth, multiple Bearcats shouted “Let’s freaking do it.”
“Every time we match up with Tumwater, it is an epic battle,” head coach Kevin Zylstra said. “Battled all the way through. Everybody was fired up and the girls got me fired up.”
They delivered on Friday night.
Karlee Coleman and Avalon Myers each had a double and a home run, plus a complete game in the circle by Tobin ignited W.F. West to a 6-4 triumph over Tumwater in a vital Evergreen Conference tussle at Tumwater High School.
Four days after getting silenced to the tune of 18 strikeouts against the other D-I pitcher in the league – Aberdeen’s Lilly Camp – the Bearcats (6-4, 3-2 EvCo) responded with six loud hits and secured a winning week.
Now, they sit a game back of the T-Birds and Bobcats one-third of the way through the league slate.
“We’ve been making adjustments for sure,” Tobin stated. “This was a big boost to our confidence. I’m beyond proud of everyone.”
The string of hits started with an Addie Froschauer base hit then Myers ripped a double. Coleman, a freshman, laced a double of her own to clear the bases and advanced to third on the throw home.
She scored on an error and in the blink of an eye, it was 3-0 W.F. West.
“We were all talking to each other about what Ella was throwing and she seemed to be leaning towards more outside pitches,” Myers said. “We’re all feeling good now. “
The 3-4 hitters in the Bearcats’ lineup were far from done.
Myers took advantage of a leadoff walk in the fifth with a two-run bomb to right field to chase Ferguson out of the game after 4.2 innings. Coleman greeted southpaw Sarah Stevens with a solo shot to make it 6-1.
Coleman has impressed her teammates and coaches through the first nine games of her varsity career.
“That girl has so much potential; sky is the limit,” Zylstra said.
“She’s been doing amazing,” Tobin added. “She knows what she needs to do and she’s come in clutch so many times.”
Tumwater (6-2, 4-1) had several bites at the apple to tie or take the lead. Tobin never let them get to the core.
The sophomore right-hander stranded the bases loaded in the third after giving up a solo homer to Ferguson, left the tying run at the plate in the fifth and after a two-base error in the seventh with one out, struck out Jaime Haase and Stevens to send the Bearcats into euphoria.
She finished with 10 strikeouts in a performance Zylstra claims is on her “Mt. Rushmore” of clutch pitching nights.
“She just battles and battles,” Zylstra said. “You got Lilly and Ella getting all the headlines. Taylor is not very big, but she pitches so smart and so well. She’s the Greg Maddux of this league.”
Tobin kept her mindset simple in strenuous situations.
“I knew my teammates would back me up,” she said. “Just throw strikes. I had to dig deep.”
The T-Birds had six different players record a hit. After a thrilling 10-inning victory over Aberdeen, they nearly came away with another triumphant victory.
First-year head coach Shaunie Kennedy believes it stems from waiting too long for adjustments at the plate.
“We have to be a little bit better on pitch selection, we need to attack that first pitch strike from the beginning,” Kennedy said. “We battled. Once we figure out our selection, I think we’ll start battling from the beginning.”
Zoe Fields notched a double and Sophie Skillman brought in two on a single in a three-run fifth to cut the five-run deficit back to two. Tumwater finished with just two hits with runners in scoring position.
It begins the second stretch of the EvCo schedule at home versus Centralia.
“Every loss to me is actually a win,” Kennedy said. “You become a better ball player facing those losses. That’s how champions are made. You have to have those battles.”
Meanwhile, the Bearcats are hopeful they can string some wins together. Already at two straight wins, they’ll look to make it three in a row on Monday against Shelton.
“These are the games everyone lives for,” Myers said. “We needed a win like this.”
