BATTLE GROUND — Alexandra Barter and her coach were just having fun, trying to stay relaxed, talking about the upcoming at-bat with two outs in the top of the seventh during an elimination game in the Class 4A District 4 softball tournament.
“Coach pulled me aside and said, ‘This one’s going to be a watermelon, a big fat one.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it’s going to be a big meatball.'”
Really, it was just a way to get Barter to smile, because, she acknowledged, she had not been hitting the way she expected.
Boom. She got the pitch she wanted.
Barter’s two-run home run gave Skyview a 2-0 win over Camas, sending the Storm to the championship game against Battle Ground at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Battle Ground beat Union 6-1 in the other semifinal.
Skyview and Battle Ground are assured spots in the upcoming bi-district playoffs. The season came to an end for Camas and Union.
Barter’s blast to center field was the third hit of the game for the Storm. Then they had to play defense.
Camas loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
Skyview right fielder Myranda Krull made what the players called an Odell Beckham Jr., catch, referring to the wide receiver from the New York Giants. The ball, a blast from Cali Johnson, was sailing over Krull’s head, but Krull extended her glove above and behind her head and came down with the ball. Camas did not tag, leaving the bases loaded with two outs.
“I was so nervous,” Skyview pitcher Kayla Moore said. “I’m still shaking.”
Moore then got a strikeout to end the game.
“Definitely an adrenaline rush,” Moore said. “I was just so happy. Senior year. That’s an exciting way to start the end.”
By starting the end, she means the start of the postseason for the end of her high school career.
Skyview beat Heritage 12-0 earlier Tuesday to advance to the semifinals. Abby Fischer hit a home run.
Skyview and Camas tied for second in the 4A Greater St. Helens League. Camas topped the Storm on Friday in a tiebreaker to earn the No. 2 seed to this tourney. Skyview got even — and then some — with Tuesday’s win.
Battle Ground, the top seed, got two home runs and four RBIs from Morgan Stradley in the win over Union. Parker Boyd struck out 12.
The Titans beat Evergreen 6-2 in the first-round game Tuesday. Anna Aguon, the league’s co-player of the year with Boyd, and Maleya Burns each hit a home run in that contest.
