Columbia River softball star Teaghan Cowles strives for her best in all she does

It is impossible to play perfect softball, but that is what makes softball the perfect sport for Columbia River junior Teaghan Cowles.

“It forces me to be able to accept failure,” Cowles said. “I have to go up there and clear my mind every at-bat or clear my mind after every error. It’s great for an academics kid to have that. We learn to accept it. It makes us a lot better people.”

In school, Teaghan Cowles is perfect. At least by the way the school system measures perfection.

1 Ticket for two: Just like baseball and most of the other team sports, the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League softball teams will not participate in a bi-district tournament this school year. The top two teams after district play will go directly to state. Which means there are going to be a few disappointed teams. Camas looks impressive. Union is strong. Skyview is always a contender. Battle Ground went to state last year. Something’s gotta give.

2 Fast start: Is anyone having a better start to the season than Camas’ Katie Schroeder? Her coach described her before season as one of the top-10 pitchers in the state. Maybe top five now? Top three? Schroeder is 6-0 and has 76 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. Oh, she also is the big bat with two home runs and 12 RBIs for the Papermakers.

3 Three at 3A: The top three teams in the 3A Greater St. Helens League — a league with just four teams — will get a chance to go to state at a bi-district tournament. Columbia River, Prairie, and Kelso all believe they can make it to Lacey for the state tournament.

4 Small schools: Woodland is up from Class 1A and now is in the 2A GSHL. The Beavers have reached state the past two seasons. La Center, meanwhile, has high expecations in Class 1A. After all, the Wildcats return the Trico League MVP: Abby England is a sophomore.

5 Players to watch: Parker Boyd, jr., Battle Ground; Teaghan Cowles, jr., Columbia River; Colleen Driscoll, sr., Mountain View; Abby England, so., La Center; Jessica Flanagan, jr., Woodland; Emily Garcia, sr., Skyview; Tori O’Neill, sr., Camas; Jamie Phares, sr., Prairie; Sam Rice, sr., Ridgefield; Katie Schroeder, sr., Camas; Mo Spieth, jr., Union.

A 4.0 grade-point average as a full-time International Baccalaureate Program student, Cowles is determined to stay perfect. She also happens to be one of the best position players in the state, too.

Stanford University. That’s the goal, the destination. That is the place for a student in pursuit of perfection and an athlete’s endeavor toward excellence.

Still, the numbers between academics and softball can gnaw at Cowles.

In school, she wants to get everything right, score 100 percent. In softball, she said, if she hits .400, that’s failing 60 percent of the time. Yet, that’s OK?

“It can be stressful, but I love every minute of it,” Cowles said.

Cowles performs this balancing act admirably. If she goes 3 for 5 in a game, that is considered spectacular. But she would be mortified if she ever got 60 percent on a test, even just one test.

She takes six IB classes a day. Twice a week, she has seven classes. Then softball after school. That is followed by three, four, sometimes more hours of homework.

Just. About. Every. Day.

“That’s common for a lot of students in IB who do sports,” Cowles says matter-of-factly. “We stay up late.”

Advanced students often say playing a sport is a stress-reliever. For Cowles, the opposite is true.

“Academics is sometimes a break from softball actually. They balance each other out. I don’t think I could do one without the other,” she said. “After a really stressful day of softball, it’s nice to have school to come back to.”

Cowles can hit for power, has the speed to turn every walk into a double, and also is the leader on the field as Columbia River’s catcher. All those things make her special, make her a Division I talent. It is her studies, though, that make her a Stanford recruit.

The point of the IB program is have a well-rounded student, Cowles said. English, history, math, science, foreign language, electives.

“My parents have always stressed you do it for the learning and it’s the effort you put in that counts,” Cowles said. “I try to put as much effort as I can in my classes. So far, it’s worked out for me.”

Her parents — Heidi Houchen and Bobby Cowles — would not mind if she took a break now and then. Houchen said there are days she wishes Teaghan would come home from school, crash on the couch, snack, and just take it easy.

Not going to happen, Teaghan says.

Plus, she cannot stop now. Not if she wants to play for the Cardinal. Cowles has a scholarship offer waiting for her if she qualifies academically at Stanford. She has made a “verbal commitment” to the admissions process, but she will not get any favors for being an athlete.

Which leads to high school studies and softball for the next year or so — and don’t forget basketball. She also is a guard for the Chieftains. You know, because she is not busy enough. She used to play soccer, too, and tried a number of sports growing up, but she was finally convinced to give her body a bit of a rest.

Playing catcher, after all, is demanding.

Houchen said she and Teaghan’s father were hoping she would be a pitcher.

“My favorite picture of my childhood is my dad strapping my shin guards on me,” Teaghan said.

She was hooked.

“The catcher is the general on the field. You might not be in the spotlight like the pitcher, but you’re in charge,” Cowles said. “You call the pitches. You call the team to a meeting if something is going wrong. You have to command your team and make sure things are going right.”

These days, that picture is of Cowles in her catching gear with a Batman logo on the chest protector. A self-described nerd who would love to one day go to Comic-Con in San Diego, Batman is her nickname in the softball community.

It will not take a superhero for Columbia River to return to the state softball tournament, but it will take a heroic effort. The team will be without starting pitcher Katelyn Costanza, who is out with a torn ACL. But two weeks into the season, Cowles said she is confident the Chieftains can still make a run at state.

The Chieftains do not have to be perfect. They just have to strive for perfection.

It is how Teaghan Cowles has always led her life.