SPANAWAY — Playing in the final official week of the high school softball season — the Class 3A state tournament — is all Prairie High’s seniors have known.
For straight three years — well, four if you count when this year’s seniors were eighth graders — the Falcons have been a staple at the 16-team field at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.
Three times, they came home with trophies.
That won’t happen this year; their 4-1 loss to Gig Harbor in Saturday’s winner-to-state, loser-out game at the 3A bi-district tournament breaks a four-year streak of reaching state.
And that’s why the loss to the Tides was an equally crushing blow, because the four seniors couldn’t close out their careers at state one more time, said junior Kylee Snider.
“Seeing them cry right now,” Snider said, “I can’t even contain it.”
The Falcons were in a do-or-die situation all day Saturday. After falling into the consolation bracket with Friday’s loss to Stadium of Tacoma, they were one of eight teams striving for the final state berth.
First came a 10-2 victory over Spanaway Lake, then a 6-4 win over 3A Greater St. Helens League rival Mountain View. That set up the final showdown with Gig Harbor, which survived Peninsula and Timberline to face the Falcons.
Gig Harbor jumped out to a 2-0 lead entering the third. That inning was its best shot at runs. It loaded the bases off pitcher Adelaide Werner, but was unable to score more after Ashley Shelton drew a bases loaded walk to make it a 2-1 game.
The Tides scored two more off back-to-back RBI hits by the Werners — Adalaide and Bailey — pushing the lead to 4-1, and a pitching change.
Snider and Kate Lawhead had two hits apiece and Chloe Blehm and Mallory William each had a hit to total the Falcons’ six hits. Josey Lesmeister, Olivia Meyers and Blehm combined to pitch all 21 innings over three games Saturday.
Still, with just four seniors departing, Snider knows the plethora of talent returning for the Falcons in 2018.
And she’s using the frustration and sadness from Saturday as big motivation.
“We’re going to have a packed team next year,” she said. “… That makes us work that much harder. What can we do next year to make it that much better so we to get to state, and go all the way and make the championship game at state?”
Before falling to Prairie, Mountain View beat Wilson of Tacoma 7-3 in a loser-out game Saturday.
Angie Shadder pitched to the win and went 2 for 3 with two RBI, and Raelyn Clemmer was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI.
Evergreen was eliminated in a 4-1 loss to Timberline.
