Cheney makes first trip to state since 1992 as district's 2nd seed
By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
Lady Hawks' head coach Gary Blake will tell you the last time a Cheney High School softball team qualified for the state tournament there were just two classifications – 3A, and everybody else.
The year was 1992. By winning two of three games in last week's District 7 tournament Cheney finally ended that 18-year absence, taking the district's second-seed to this weekend's 16-team 2A state tournament in Selah. To get there, Cheney rallied to beat Clarkston 7-6 last Tuesday and held on to edge the Great Northern League's second-place team West Valley 4-3 before finally succumbing 13-2 in the seeding game with league champion Colville.
“We did what we had to do,” Blake said Monday night.
That “had to do” started in the seventh inning in Clarkston. Trailing 5-3 in their last at-bat, the Lady Hawks got a lead off triple from Ryelynn Mendoza, with the freshman scoring on a throwing error.
Sierra Vijarro followed with a triple and after Nicole Lane struck out, scored on Mandy McDowell's fielder's choice to the Bantams' pitcher. Gracie Pitts reached base on another fielder's choice, she and McDowell eventually advancing to second and third. Nora Ifft singled to score McDowell, and Katie Bethel followed with a single scoring Pitts for a 7-5 lead, holding on defensively in the bottom of the inning for the win.
Lane got the victory on the mound giving up three earned runs on nine hits, walking two, striking out one and throwing 67 percent strikes. Offensively Mendoza and Bethel were both 2 for 4, Vijarro 2 for 3 with Pitts, Samee Silvieus and Ifft each getting a hit.
The win advanced Cheney to Thursday's game at West Valley, with the Lady Hawks taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Vijarro's double to center and McDowell's grounder to short.
West Valley tied it in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with two outs and scoring when Lane's pitch hit Leah Peterson. Cheney countered in the third with Mendoza reaching on a grounder to short and scoring on a throwing error to third by catcher Bailey Castor.
In the bottom of the inning the Eagles scored two runs on a pair of one-out singles and three consecutive walks. Cheney tied it in the fifth with Mendoza reaching on a single up the first base line and scoring on Lane's RBI bunt single that perfectly hugged the third baseline.
Cheney could do nothing against West Valley ace Rachel Meagley in the sixth. In the bottom of the inning the Eagles loaded the bases with back-to-back one-out singles and a Cheney error.
Lane then got Charstie Saville to pop to Ifft at second for the second out. On the second pitch to the next batter, Castor, the ball sailed to the backstop where catcher Megan Ford fielded the carom and tossed it to Lane covering home, who tagged out Peterson trying to score from third to end the inning.
In the seventh, Mendoza again led off with a single, stealing second and advancing to third on a passed ball where McDowell brought her home with a sharply hit two-out single to center. Lane pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, getting the final out on Jackie Noble's grounder to Bethel at short.
Lane got the win, giving up three earned runs on nine hits while striking out seven. Mendoza had a pair of hits, with Vijarro, Lane, McDowell and Ifft each adding a hit.
With a trip to state sealed up the Lady Hawks took on Colville in the seeding game at Whitworth University where seven Cheney errors helped the Indians nail down the No. 1.
Cheney took a brief 2-0 lead in the first, getting RBI groundouts from Lane and McDowell, before Colville exploded for seven runs in the second on four hits and three errors, and ended the game with four more runs in the fourth, four Cheney errors helping there as well. Lane took the loss on the mound, with Pitts getting two hits and McDowell one.
Blake said losses like Saturday often happen to teams who achieve something they haven't ever done before, adding that reaching state is quite an accomplishment for a team with nine of its 12 players either freshmen or sophomores.
The Lady Hawks (11-11) open Friday against Blaine (14-9) from Whatcom County, a team Blake said he didn't know much about at press time. Regardless of the outcome, Cheney has at least two games with which to absorb the state experience for the future.
“They're going to see what it takes,” Blake said. “That's the important part in my mind. They're going to see what it takes to be successful.”
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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