Shorecrest, Kamiak, M-P advance to state

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, May 19, 2001

By Art Corral

Herald Writer

BELLEVUE – Mission accomplished.

With both teams having already safely secured their spots in the Class 4A state fastpitch tournament next weekend in Tacoma, Shorecrest and Kamiak nonetheless played each other on Saturday.

In the championship game of the Wesco/KingCo 4A bi-district tournament, Shorecrest defeated Kamiak 3-2 in a first-and second-place to state game played at Hidden Valley Sports Park.

The game marked the fourth meeting between Shorecrest and Kamiak this year, in what has developed into a friendly, yet competitive, rivalry between the two schools.

“We definitely wanted to take districts,” Kamiak coach Susy Jones said. “We did let up a little bit. Just because we knew we were in. Getting into and winning districts was the important thing. Once you get into state, it doesn’t matter who you play because all 16 teams are going to be good.”

The game itself was almost anti-climatic. Both coaches chose to start their No. 2 pitchers and several non-regular starters, resting the tired and those with bumps and bruises or nagging injuries.

Kamiak led 2-1 until Shorecrest was able to tie it up in the sixth inning. The Knights eventually won it in the bottom of the seventh when catcher Toni Brickell singled with the bases loaded, bringing in April Dickinson with the winning run.

“Wesco is a very strong league,” said Shorecrest coach Kristie Oglesby. “We knew the game didn’t mean anything. That was a mistake. I’ll never make the mistake of telling my team that ever again. We turned it back up the last two innings.”

Brickell, Susi Barnes and Ashley Knudsvig each had two hits in the game for the Scots. The Knights were led offensively by Kelli Johnson, who was 2-for 3, and Brianna Lindner, who had a double.

“We didn’t play up to our par against Kamiak,” Oglesby said. “They (Shorecrest) deserve it, no doubt. We were definitely high after the Inglemoor game. We had great defense and timely hitting, especially from Brickell.”

Marysville-Pilchuck also advanced to state as the fourth-place team from the tournament. It beat Woodinville 5-1 in a winner-to-state, loser-out game.

Lindsey Miller, Jessica Phillips, Jen Sweeney and Ashley Harris all had two hits to lead Marysville-Pilchuck. Emily Weitzel struck out eight for the Tomahawks.

Also Saturday, Snohomish’s season ended in a 2-1 loss to Woodinville. It was the Panthers’ second loss of the tournament.

Kamiak 2, Marysville-Pilchuck 0: Kristina Colburn was 2-for-3 at the plate and Kelli Johnson had 13 strikeouts to lead Kamiak in a semifinal game.

Other games: