LACEY — The red-hot bats of the Heritage softball team picked up Friday right where they left off the day before at the Class 3A state tournament.
The No. 18 seed Timberwolves racked up 16 hits and scored eight runs across the first two innings en route to a 13-4 win over No. 2 Ballard in the round of 16 at Regional Athletic Complex.
Then, Heritage ran into a buzzsaw, or two, in a pair of losses to Garfield (18-4) and Monroe (18-8), bringing its season to an abrupt halt.
Earlier Friday, Heritage advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2011 by stunning Ballard with another potent offensive performance.
Sophomore Jaila Ellis provided the biggest bat, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two doubles and a solo home run in the first inning to get the Timberwolves their first run.
Freshman Kylie Thomas went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a double and senior Kaliann Newberry added two hits, including an RBI double, and scored three runs.
While Ballard racked up 12 hits, Ellis and the Timberwolves’ defense limited the Beavers’ damage. Ellis struck out five Ballard batters with no walks and four earned runs allowed.
The offensive surge was a stark contrast to Heritage’s quarterfinal matchup against Garfield. The Bulldogs blanked the Timberwolves through innings and gave up just one hit.
By the time Heritage bounced back for six runs in the fifth inning, Garfield held a commanding 12-run advantage and ended the game in the fifth via the 10-run mercy rule.
In the loser-out game to follow, Monroe turned around a 6-4 deficit with back-t0-back seven-run innings in the fifth and sixth to claim an 18-8 win over Heritage in a loser-out game.
Newberry (three RBI) and Skyler Jones led Heritage with three hits apiece, each including a double, while Taylor Frost (two RBI) and Thomas each added two hits.
Despite coming up one win short of Saturday’s consolation round, Heritage (14-15) reached its third straight state tournament this year, the longest streak in program history.
SNOHOMISH 13, PRAIRIE 0 — Snohomish exploded for eight runs in the first inning and held the Falcons to two hits in the round of 16.
Abby Edwards had three RBI in two at-bats in the inning, and the Panthers also got RBI hits from Kendal Sage, Hannah Siegler and Zoey Lynch during the frame.
The early offensive barrage prompted Prairie to call on Mackenzie Moore in relief of starting pitcher Rylee Wall during the first inning. After Moore and the Falcons defense put together a pair of scoreless innings, Snohomish tacked on five runs in the fourth and ended the game in the fifth via the 10-run mercy rule.
Moore hit a single and Payton Blunt had a double in the first inning for the Falcons’ only hits against Edwards, who struck out six Prairie batters in three innings. Alexandra Flohr held the Falcons without a hit in the final two innings with two strikeouts and one walk.
JUANITA 8, PRAIRIE 7 — Elliott Parker’s walk-off RBI single put the Ravens over the top in a loser-out game.
Prairie took a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning on Mackenzie Moore’s grand slam and added another run in the fifth on a Jordynn Ciu RBI base hit.
In the fifth, home runs from Ashlyn Cook and Parker swung the lead back to Juanita, 7-6, before Prairie’s Ashlee Porter hit a game-tying solo home run to open the seventh inning.
Moore went 2-for-5 with four RBI to lead the Falcons (16-11), while Porter, Payton Blunt and Serena Hewes each added two hits.
