Colfax state bid ends short of place in Yakima

Colfax softball season came to a sudden end Sunday morning at Gateway Park in Yakima when the Bulldog entry was shut down with a 1-10 loss to Napavine.

The defeat put Colfax out of the playoff with a 1-2 record for the state show.

Colfax, which had a number-five ticket to Gateway after the last round of playoff in Spokane among the SE-NE contenders, started with a 12-3 win over Kittitas, and then lost to Morton-White Pass on a 6-0 shutout.

The quarterfinal loss put them in the consolation bracket where they would have needed three straight wins to get within range of a third-fourth place trophy, something that has eluded Colfax teams in the final rounds of state softball action.

The finals at Gateway went off track at the start when steady rain shut the Yakima complex down for the first round Friday. The schedule was moved back a day for an unusual final round on Sunday.

Colfax actually went into the first game as the underdogs against a Kittitas team which had an 18-2 record and topped the entry for Districts 5-6. Kittitas pitcher Ashley Hayes struck out nine of the Bulldogs, but Colfax broke open a close game with a six-run explosion in the sixth inning. Kori Goodwin, who finished with five RBIs, rapped a bases-loaded double in the sixth for the decisive hit. Rachel Robinson and Erica Eng followed up with RBI hits for the 12-3 win. Goodwin finished with two singles and a double.

Eng, who went to the pitcher’s circle after recovering from an ankle injury in a play at the plate last week at Merkel, allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked seven in the opener.

Other hitters for Colfax in the win over the Koyotes were Brittany Lewis, single and triple; Robinson, single and double; Eng, Amara Huber and Sarah Apel, each a single.

The 10-hit tally in the opener proved to be the high point of the Colfax offense for the rest of the show. They booked just five hits over the next two games.

Morton-White Pass, which bumped Waitsburg/ Prescott in the first round, booked the 6-0 shutout with pitcher Taylor Books holding Colfax to just two hits.

Coach Terry Eng noted the worst part of the derailment was five runs netted off the seven walks granted to the quarterfinal foe.

Erica Eng allowed four hits and walked seven in the second round game. Goodwin and Kasey Cloaninger had the Colfax hits, both singles, against M/WP.

The second-round loss put Coflax up against Napavine in Sunday’s first elmination game. Colfax tailed 1-3 through the fourth innings, but Napavine blew it open with six runs in the fifth. Seven of their 15 hits went into the books in that inning.

Colfax finished with just three hits, a double by Eng and singles by Robinson and Huber. The 1-2 campaign ended the Bulldog season at 16-12 overall.

Coach Eng noted one of the plus points was the eventual matchup of Napavine and Morton- White Pass on the three-four consolation trophy final.

With catcher Rachel Robinson as the lone senior on the club, Colfax can look forward to cranking up next spring with an experienced team. The Bulldogs this year featured solid defense topped by just three errors over the three state rounds. Coach Eng notes they need to crank up the pitching and hitting to book more success for next year.

Northwest Christian, the NE dominator, again landed in second place with a loss to the Toutle Lake Ducks in the title game. Pitcher Hannah Hustad again keyed the Crusaders’ run in the state show.