The Camas softball team was scheduled to come up with its latest team goals late Wednesday as the Papermakers prepared to head to Spokane for the Class 4A state tournament.
After all, they already accomplished the goal they set at the beginning of the season.
It’s a four-peat for Camas softball — four consecutive trips to the state tournament.
Interim coach Tim Searight said Wednesday afternoon that the team will come up with new goals before Thursday’s trek to Spokane. The tournament begins Friday.
Searight already has a couple of his own in mind, though.
“First goal is to get to Saturday. Second goal is to get hardware,” he said.
He picked the right sport.
A case can be made that softball is Southwest Washington’s most successful high school team sport.
Since 2000, at least one Clark County softball team has finished in the top four — earning a trophy — in every season but one.
This season, Battle Ground will be joining Camas at the 4A state tournament, Prairie will be headed to Lacey for the 3A tournament, Woodland is going to Selah for the 2A tournament, and La Center will head east for the 1A tournament in Richland.
A year ago, Prairie lost its first game of the 3A tournament, then won four in a row to make it to the trophy game. The Falcons survived two elimination games Saturday at the bi-district to return to state.
“I think this (bi-district) tournament showed us that we can compete with any team in the state,” Prairie coach Ari Van Horn said. “And we saw every kind of pitcher you can in this tournament — fast pitchers, slow pitchers, drop-ball pitchers, rise-ball pitchers.”
Woodland lost its opener a year ago, as well, then won five in a row to finish in third place in the 1A state tournament. This year, the Beavers are a 2A team.
La Center will be headed to the state tournament for the first time since finishing third in 2008.
Back to the 4As, the Papermakers value these trips to state, and they are getting accustomed to being among the final 16 teams in their classification. Battle Ground, meanwhile, is going to state for the second year in a row, and second time in school history. The Tigers went 1-2 last year. No trophy, but a first win at state in program history.
There is a lot of history with Southwest Washington softball.
Five teams hope to make their own this weekend.
