The Tumwater softball team got the first laugh in its 2A district semifinal against Ridgefield, but the GSHL champions got the last one, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to hand the T-Birds a 4-3 loss.
“Our goal was to keep throwing punches at them,” Tumwater coach Ashley Lupinski said. “We threw them early, and I thought we didn’t continue to throw the punches. So we’re learning from that and hopefully taking that into tomorrow.”
When the Thunderbirds went to Clark County early in the season, the Spudders beat them 14-1 in run-rule fashion. This time around, Tumwater got going early at the plate, with Megan Paull blasting a three-run home run in the top of the first inning to put the designated visitors ahead immediately.
After that first frame, though, Tumwater managed just three hits. The Thunderbirds went 0 for 4 over the final six innings with runners in scoring position, as Ridgefield’s Elizabeth Peery tossed five innings of shutout relief to earn the win.
“That’s the thing: we’re getting runners on but we’re not coming up with that clutch hit,” Lupinski said.
Tumater ace Ella Ferguson threw up four shutout frames to start her outing, and had the Spudders on just one run going into the sixth. The sophomore had to work around runners in each of the first four frames, but did so with the help of her defense — which threw a runner out at the plate in the third — while also coming up with two huge strikeouts with runners in scoring position to leave the bases loaded in the fourth.
Ferguson finished with eight strikeouts, but the Spudders began to figure her out the third and fourth time through the order, getting four of its nine hits in the sixth inning to plate three runs and take a 4-3 lead.
“We probably should have thrown some more offspeed,” Lupinski said. “The more that you see a pitcher, the better you’re going to be. But I thought Ella did a great job. I thought she was tough today, I thought she threw really well, and our defense did a good job. They just hit the ball when they needed to.”
Tumwater’s first game of the day followed just about the same script until the very end. The T-Birds jumped on Woodland for four runs in the first three innings, then held on for dear life. The Beavers scored two runs in the fifth and rallied in the seventh, scoring a run and putting the tying run on third base, but Ferguson — who had struck out 13 — ended the game with her glove, laying out to snag a popped-up bunt.
Kylie Waltermeyer went 2 for 3 with a walk in the first game, driving a run in on a triple and scoring another. Jaime Haase went 2 for 4 ahead of her in the order.
So the Thunderbirds go into Friday with an even run differential in their first two games, winning one by one and losing another by the same margin. Tumwater will play one game for its season back at Rec Park against R.A. Long, where it could find itself in yet another close, low-scoring thriller.
“We just told them, those are the games you play for in the postseason,” Lupinski said. “That’s how it’s going to be every single game from here on out, and that’s fun; that’s what we want. I think we’re excited for tomorrow.
