Mount Si softball team ends year in fifth place at state tournament
May 30, 2012
By Michele Mihalovich
Talk about pressure.
The fate of whether the Mount Si High School softball team could muster enough momentum to go forward in the state championship brackets rested entirely on sophomore Jenny Carroll.
It was the seventh inning and Mount Si was down by four runs. There were two outs and Carroll had already racked up two strikes against Kamiakin High School pitcher Lindsey Kamphuis. But Rachael Picchena was on third base, ready to cross home plate for Mount Si’s first run of the game.
By Greg Farrar Kendra Lee, Mount Si High School senior, pitches to retire the side during the second inning against Kamiakin High School in the first round of the state 3A fastpitch championships May 25 in Lacey.
Kamphuis let go of the pitch and Carroll smacked nothing but air, ending the Wildcats’ hope of going forward at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey on May 25.
If it’s any consolation, Mount Si had a pretty good showing against the Kamiakin Braves out of Kennewick, which went home with the state 3A title, Coach Larry White said.
“Oh man, we were so close,” he said. “They really played a good game against them.”
After that game with Kamiakin, Mount Si would face off against two more teams that day, and would prevail.
They beat Peninsula, 4-3, and Bonney Lake, 10-2.
The next day, Mount Si saw another win, beating Bainbridge, 8-5, which then led them to a familiar rival … the Juanita Rebels.
The Rebels clinched the KingCo season 3A season title, with Mount Si right behind them.
Mount Si ended up losing against Juanita, 11-1, in the loser-out game.
Only four teams leave with a trophy at the state championship: Everett went home with a second-place spot, Wilson took third and Juanita rounded it out with a fourth-place title.
While Mount Si didn’t go home with a trophy, White said he couldn’t be more excited about the Wildcats’ fifth-place finish.
Mount Si ended the overall season with an impressive 20 wins, and will be losing only two seniors from this year’s team.
Senior Maura Murphy sat out most of the season due to medical problems. Kendra Lee was the starting pitcher for most of Mount Si’s games.
White said freshman pitcher Paige Wetherbee looks like she’ll move into that spot seamlessly. But the rest of the team also had skills and experience that they’ll bring to the 2013 Wildcats team, without leaving the team vulnerable.
With the experience of incoming seniors and juniors, White said, “the bar has been set really high.”
He said his goal for next season would be to work on improving the team’s consistency and bunting balls.
“With another year of experience, this team could be incredible, and I’m really looking forward to maybe getting an even better showing than fifth place next year,” White said.
Michele Mihalovich: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.
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