The Lady Vikings competed with the elite at state championships last weekend, taking the fifth/sixth place state finish for the second time in two years.
“Out of 16 teams in the tournament at the state level, that’s nothing to shake a stick at,” said coach Scott Harris.
The girls played five games over two days to finish off a crackerjack season in which they successfully defended their league title, taking second place in Tri-Districts.
At state:
Game One
Friday morning: the Vikings swatted down the Oroville Hornets, 13-3.
Game Two
Late Friday night: the Colfax Bulldogs pushed past a 6-6 tie to defeat Orcas 15-6. The Vikings hit their pillows well after midnight and were up early to take the field again.
Game Three
Saturday morning: Orcas came from behind to bedevil the Saints, beating Seattle Lutheran 6-3.
Game Four
Saturday afternoon: Orcas outstripped the Mary Walker Chargers, 20-4 in five innings.
“The girls really wanted to make a statement with this victory,” said Harris. “To be the last team standing from the district was a goal for the kids… Our girls hit the ball SO hard.. they just unloaded.” Many of the younger players got a chance to play during this game: Harris said Aliviah Garcia hit a double and Clarabeth Smith made a great shoestring catch at right field.
Game Five
Saturday night: Orcas lost to Napavine, a district 4 team, 10-0.
“That was hour six of straight softball,” said Harris. “We were just empty. They worked hard, they tried to dig deep, but they just didn’t have it. That seems to be our Achilles heel: there wasn’t a team that we played that I didn’t think we could be extremely competitive with, but we don’t play well extremely tired.”
“The girls really represented themselves well in their play and their sportsmanship,” said Harris. “We couldn’t have been prouder. We had a big turnout of Orcas fans and got a lot of comments on how good the girls look as far as their skill level, their great sportsmanship, and how fun they are as a team. You have to work very hard at (softball) but you can have a smile on your face while you’re doing it, have a lot of joy, and they do that.”
Game One
Friday morning: Orcas beat Orville 13-3.
Game Two
Friday night: Colfax pushed past a 6-6 tie to defeat Orcas 15-6.
Game Three
Saturday morning: Orcas came from behind to beat Seattle Lutheran 6-3.
Game Four
Orcas trounced Mary Walker 20-4 in five innings
Game Five
Orcas lost to Napavine, a district 4 team, 10-0.
“The girls really represented themselves well in their play and their sportsmanship,” said Harris. “We couldn’t have been prouder. We had a big turnout of Orcas fans and got a lot of comments on how good the girls look as far as their skill level, their great sportsmanship, and how fun they are as a team. You have to work very hard at (softball) but you can have a smile on your face while you’re doing it, have a lot of joy, and they do that.”
