After a 2-3 showing in the District 3/4 3A softball tournament at the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC) in Lacey, the Tornados’ season officially came to an end. Yelm was ultimately eliminated by Heritage, who won the “win and you’re in” matchup, 17-7, on May 18.
The Tornados finish their season with a record of 17-7, and a 13-2 record against South Sound Conference opponents, including a district matchup victory over the Timberline Blazers. In addition to the victory over the Blazers in the district tournament, Yelm also defeated Silas High School. The team chalked losses to Auburn Riverside, Auburn Mountainview and Heritage.
“This season had a lot of highs and some lows,” head coach Lindsay Walton said. “The girls grew together through those times, and I’m excited to see what next year brings as we will return with a strong core group of athletes and leaders.”
In the opening round of the district playoffs on May 16, Yelm defeated the Silas Rams, 23-11, in a matchup full of offense. The Tornados totaled 16 hits, with senior Elissa Dewees, junior Austin Hitchner and freshman Jocelyn Lintz tallying three hits each. Juniors Layah Hicks and Caylee Roberts each mashed home runs in the contest. Hicks knocked the pitch out of the RAC’s park with bases loaded for a grand slam in the second inning, while Roberts collected her three-run dinger in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game via mercy rule.
The high-scoring affair saw five Tornados collect RBIs, including Dewees with two, Hitchner, three, freshman Kamille Kautz, two, Roberts, five, Hicks, four, junior Kylie Minker, one, and Lintz, two.
Freshman pitcher Riley Smith earned the victory for the Tornados. She pitched 3 1/3 innings, collecting four strikeouts and allowing just two earned runs on two hits. Senior Madisyn Erickson started the matchup for Yelm but was replaced by Smith after 1 2/3 innings pitched.
“The Silas game was a crazy one as we had to battle back from a deficit that was fairly big at one point. I had no doubt our bats were going to go off at some point. I could feel the adrenaline down on the third baseline. Feelings of excitement and confidence were high as I could feel my heart rate increase and my hands get shaky from it all,” Walton said. “It was a great first game but didn’t compare to the excitement we all felt during the Timberline game.”
In the team’s second and final matchup of the day on May 16, the Tornados were shut out, 11-0, by the Auburn Riverside Ravens. Yelm batters collected just four hits in the contest, with Erickson, Hitchner, Kautz and Hicks all hitting singles. Three Tornados appeared on the mound in the matchup, including starter Minker and Smith and Erickson in relief.
Needing two wins to punch their ticket to state, the Tornados first squared off on May 18 at the RAC against South Sound Conference foe Timberline. The Blazers defeated the Tornados twice throughout the regular season, notching 7-2 and 6-2 victories over Yelm on March 28 and April 23, respectively.
Despite Yelm’s past troubles against Timberline earlier in the season, the Tornados finally conquered the SSC champion Blazers in a 10-5 victory. Yelm quickly led 1-0 in the second inning before pulling ahead 4-0 in the third frame. Timberline made it a 4-1 contest in the fourth inning, but Yelm’s offense exploded for a six-run fifth inning to pull ahead 10-1. The Blazers’ offense attempted a comeback by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Tornados remained on top and picked up a 10-5 victory.
Hicks led the team in RBIs in the contest as she scored three runners against the conference champions. Minker followed with two RBIs in the contest against Timberline. Smith earned the win on the mound for the Tornados. She pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits. Erickson appeared in relief and struck out five batters and allowed just two walks.
Walton described the postseason victory over rival Timberline as electric. She said the team played with intensity, passion and determination to defeat a good team.
“We showed up and had a game plan to come out on top as a coaching staff and the girls did the work,” Walton said. “It was emotionally, mentally and physically draining, but that’s why we play this game. They were pumped, and I thought that the momentum we had coming off that win would carry us through game two against Auburn Mountainview. Unfortunately, that was not the case.”
With the Tornados needing one more victory to punch their ticket to the 3A WIAA state fastpitch tournament, only Auburn Mountainview stood in their path. The Lions ultimately picked up an 8-5 victory over Yelm.
The Tornados were on the board first in the second inning after Minker crossed home plate to take an early 1-0 lead. Trailing 2-1 in the second inning, Yelm regained the lead for the final time after Roberts smacked her second home run of the tournament and scored Kautz. The Tornados led 3-2.
Trailing 8-3 in the sixth inning, Kautz collected two RBIs and attempted to rally the Tornados after scoring her teammates Dewees and Erickson on a single. Trailing 8-5, Kautz was picked off at first, and senior Miranda Hunt popped out to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, Yelm batters went three up and three down to end the game, with Hicks, Minker and sophomore Mallory Hoke all tallying at-bats.
The team’s final contest of the season came in the form of a 17-7 loss to Heritage. The Timberwolves scored first in the top of the second inning after a sac fly, but the Tornados quickly jumped ahead 5-1 in the bottom of the second frame. Lintz got the scoring started with a two-out RBI single, followed by an RBI double from Dewees to give Yelm a 3-1 lead. Erickson singled and scored Lintz and Dewees to bring Yelm’s lead to 5-1 at the end of the second inning.
The Tornados’ big offensive inning was matched and surpassed by the Timberwolves, who scored eight runs in the top of the third inning to take a 9-5 lead. They added one run in the fourth inning, three runs in the fifth inning and six runs in the fourth to secure a 17-5 lead. Yelm scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning but was ultimately defeated.
Roberts led the team with three hits in the contest, and Dewees and Erickson led with two RBIs apiece.
“The girls gave all they had and battled with everything they had left in them, but our season ended short from our goal of making it to state,” Walton said.
Following the tournament, Walton said Auburn Riverside was a solid team and that she expects the Ravens to go far in the WIAA’s 3A fastpitch state tournament. The other two losses to Auburn Mountainview and Heritage were harder for the longtime head coach to swallow.
“Auburn Mountainview and Heritage also have talent, but losing to them both was hard to accept,” Walton said. “I have no doubt we could give them both a better game with a different outcome if given another chance. However, what we learned is we have to show up for every inning, pitch and ground ball no matter how emotionally or physically drained we may be in order to get the win.”
