The Rochester softball team took control early in Hockinson on Tuesday and never looked back, as the Warriors steamrolled the Hawks 18-0 in five innings to advance to the district quarterfinals.
Macey Fluetsch gave the Warriors (11-12) a lead just three batters in with an RBI single, and after another run scored on a groundout, back-to-back RBI doubles from Leah Hartley and Sara Haury made it 4-0 before Hockinson stepped up to the plate.
“I said to come out swinging and good things are going to happen,” Rochester coach Joni Lancaster said. “They’ve been hungry and aggressive at the plate and believing in themselves and each other. That’s all I can ask for.”
That aggressiveness carried over into the second, where the Warriors added a pair, and into the fourth inning, where they blew the game open.
Rochester scored 11 runs in that frame, including a two-run triple from McKenna Vassar and a three-run home run from Hartley. Arissa LeBaron also added a two-run home run just two at-bats after Hartley’s, and Layna Demers capped the inning with a two-run double.
“They’ve been accomplishing what we’ve been asking and then some,” Lancaster said. “The last two games, with our season on the line and backs against the wall, they’ve dug deep and found it.”
Vassar and Hartley finished with four runs batted in each, and Fluetsch finished with three hits and three RBIs. Demers went 4 for 4 at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs, and she also allowed just one hit in five shutout innings in the circle.
As a team, the Warriors finished with 21 hits.
The Warriors are through to the quarterfinals and the double-elimination portion of the district tournament. They’ll take on Mark Morris in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Recreation Park in Chehalis.
