Wildcats not taking it soft

LA CENTER — They rolled through the Trico League, barely getting any competition along the way. The 10-run rule was the norm when the La Center Wildcats showed up on the softball field.

Yes, they cruised through the rest of the league.

They did not, however, cruise in practice.

“They’re always something from a game we can practice on,” senior Kayla Aguirre said.

“Always something to learn,” senior Jessi Weaver added. “Even if we slaughter someone.”

Weaver smiled after that, promising that she is not as cocky as that sounded.

It’s just that, well … it’s just that La Center softball has been that good this season. The Wildcats finished the regular season 20-0. A Class 1A program, the Wildcats went 3-0 against 4A competition, including a win over 4A Greater St. Helens League champion Battle Ground.

But during the Trico League schedule, the real competition was on the practice field. Because these Wildcats did not play this season for a league title. They are after something much bigger.

La Center reached the 1A state tournament a year ago … and left Richland disappointed.

“We expected a lot from ourselves,” senior Alicen Smith said. “When we didn’t perform to what we needed to, that fueled us to do better and take it more seriously, to really, really push ourselves.”

The Wildcats wear shirts that read: “You play the way you practice.”

So practice can be intense. Fun, still, but intense, Smith said.

Aguirre, Weaver, and Smith are the three seniors who have been on varsity all four seasons. There are six seniors in all, and the program looks strong for the future, too. League most valuable player Abby England and offensive player of the year Megan Muffett are juniors.

For the seniors, though, this is the final go-time of their high school careers. La Center opened the 1A District 4 tournament with two wins on Wednesday, earning a trip to state, and will play for a district title Saturday. The state tournament is back in Richland May 27-28.

“It’s emotional,” Aguirre said. “We’ve been together for so long. It’s about to come to an end. We want to finish strong.”

Weaver talked about all the years of club ball, too, and how it has all culminated in this final push toward the ultimate goal.

“It’s really great how everything aligned up, and we’re really maximizing everything we have,” Weaver said.

“We started together. We’re ending together,” Smith said. “We want to go out big.”

Experience is on their side, according to coach Randy Martinez.

“Last year, after it was over and they reflected on what happened, they realized they should have done a lot better,” Martinez said.

The Wildcats scheduled a tough non-league lineup this season.

“Once they had success, the confidence grew,” Martinez said. “Right now, they feel they can compete with everybody.”

The Wildcats heard others talking about how they were the favorites to win state. Weaver said that was kind of weird, at first. Now, they’ve accepted the role as a favorite.

“The more we played and meshed together, I could really see it,” Weaver said.

The 1-0 win over Battle Ground was an eye-opener, too.

“That just proved to ourselves how good we actually were,” Smith said. “Wow, we could actually take it all the way.”

Confidence is high, but focus remains at practice. The Wildcats have not reached their goal. They don’t want to just get to state, they want to win state. And that takes a commitment at practice, to continue winning on game days.

“I won’t feel accomplished unless we win it all,” Smith said.