YAKIMA — What a difference 24 hours can make.
One day after blazing through the first two rounds of the 2B State Tournament, Toledo lost a pair of games to fall one game short of a top-four finish.
After losing 17-6 to Warden on Saturday morning, Toledo’s season came to an end with a 13-2 loss to Pe Ell-Willapa Valley in the consolation semifinals.
“It hurts for the players,” Toledo coach Jeff Davis said. “They had a great season. They played hard all the way through. I think we just ran out of gas.”
Toledo (21-8) got on the board first against the Titans, but PWV quickly took over. The Titans quickly took the lead in the bottom half, and by the end of the third, their lead was up to 10-1.
“We had a hard time,” Davis said. “Everything just kind of snowballed early.”
The Riverhawks had their chances to chip away at the deficit, but struggled to bring runners home. Brynn Davis brought home their first run on an RBI single, and she also brought home Toledo’s second on an RBI groundout in the fifth.
Outside of that, Toledo left six runners on base.
“We didn’t score enough runs to win most games,” Davis said. “I thought we were close to punching through and getting a few runs … But it didn’t happen today.”
In the circle, Peyton Holter allowed 13 runs, but only six were charged as earned because Toledo committed six errors.
Most of the Riverhawks will be back next year, as all but four of this year’s group were either freshman or eighth graders. Davis said he was proud of the way this group grew this season, noting that this experience will only help them moving forward.
The other four — Davis, Quyn Norberg, Jordynne Hensley, and Mialeigh Jurica — are all seniors.
Davis said it will be tough replacing the quartet, especially Norberg behind the plate, but he’s confident in the returning group to fill their shoes.
“Everybody here is good, and it just didn’t go our way,” Davis said. “I think they did a good job of believing all season … It was a great season. I thought we did well. I’m proud of them.”
