Kettle prevails again; Colfax gets No. 2 slot

It’s almost like a Charlie Brown syndrome. Colfax softball players advanced right up to the brink of an NE title win Saturday night, but Kettle Falls came back with a three-run charge in the top of the seventh for a 6-4 win and the top NE ticket to the state show.

Colfax, which finished 2-1 in the NE derby, takes the number-two ticket into the 16-team tournament at Gateway Park.

Colfax starts at Yakima Friday against Liberty Bell, and Kettle will start against LaConner in the other bracket.

Kettle booked two homers with two out in the top of the seventh and mixed that with a blooper shot behind third base to get the three runs and break the 3-3 tie.

Coach Terry Eng noted the rolling homer became a key weapon in Saturday’s playoffs because the outfield fences at Spokane’s new Merkel complex are planted at 325 feet, about 100 feet longer than the norm for high school teams.

The K-club topped the Bi-County run after sustaining just one loss, to Colfax. That was the lone Colfax win over Kettle to date.

Colfax out-hit Kettle 7-5 in the title tame with Lauren Moore tagging a solo homer and a double. Lauri Gay also punched a double, and Brooke Webber, Christa Nyholm, Abby Muir and Amy Hickman had the other hits.

Hickman fanned six Kettle batters and walked one while giving up the five hits.

Colfax faced Kettle after an 11-2 crunch over Northwest Christian in the semi-final. Hickman shut out the Crusaders until the sixth inning when they broke through for two runs.

Hickman struck out nine and walked just three while holding NWC to just four hits.

Hickman also led the Bulldogs bats with a pair of singles and a double. Moore, Taylor Larsen and Rachel Robinson each had two hits for the Bulldogs.

Webber, Nyholm, Sam Pearson and Abby Muir had the other hits. Colfax started the Merkel run with a 15-5 win over Davenport. The Bulldogs booked nine hits in the opener, and they were allowed 14 walks to tee up runners.

Robinson tagged a three-run homer and Nyholm a two-run homer in the opener. Webber singled and paired doubles.

Coach Eng said the big factor in the opening win was the pitching performance by Lauren Moore in her first start. He noted the Bulldogs very much need a second pitcher in the two-day grind at Yakima’s Gateway Park.

Colfax again will be aiming at a top four trophy in the big 16-team event. The Bulldogs in the past have advanced to the fifth game but a trophy finish has eluded them.

Last year at Yakima under Coach James Bledsoe, the Bulldogs finished 2-2.