Lake Stevens softball rallies past Cascade

Published 8:20 pm Monday, April 27, 2026

EVERETT — Lake Stevens softball had no issue making contact through two innings against Cascade at Phil Johnson Ballfields on Monday, but the ball was simply not falling their way. Three grounders, two fly outs and one infield pop-up made up the first six outs entering the third, where Cascade led 1-0.

So when senior Ella Roller led off the inning with a double to deep left center, it felt like something finally clicked.

“I just saw a lot of people just kind of swing for the fences, which kind of happens a lot on slower pitching,” Roller said. “I just kind of was just like, ‘Hit a line drive, get a base hit,’ and then it worked.”

The No. 9 batter Alyssa Anderson reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners, which teed up the top of the order to do damage in their second time through. Sophomore Reese Breckenridge tied it with a sacrifice fly to center, and freshman Peyton Bradley lined an RBI single to right to give Lake Stevens a 2-1 lead. Then junior Alaina Emme stepped to the plate.

Working with the same contact mentality as Roller, Emme let two pitches go for a 1-1 count before getting a pitch in her zone that she sent over the center field fence to make it 4-1.

Shortly after Emme’s blast, Roller came back around to hit a base-clearing, three-run single to extend it to 7-1, and the Vikings (7-5, 4-3 league) ultimately walked away with a 10-3 win against the Bruins (2-15, 0-6 league).

“Making the adjustment earlier in the game really helped us get back into where we should be,” Emme said. “And kind of just working as a team and really communicating when we’re on the field.”

Roller finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored, while Emme and Bradley each drove in two runs. Senior Cora Quintel allowed five hits and two earned runs through three innings, and freshman Paisley Krich took the circle for the final four frames. Krich allowed two hits and one unearned run, and the two pitchers combined for nine strikeouts.

After snapping a four-game losing streak with a non-league win against Roosevelt on Saturday, Lake Stevens moved back above .500 in Wesco 4A. The third-place Vikings remain one game behind Jackson, who they face on Wednesday after winning the first matchup 10-8 on April 2.

“I think we’ve been talking a lot about just making sure that we’re doing the small things and taking care of ourselves,” Lake Stevens coach Sarah Hirsch said. “We’ve been hitting pretty well, even the games that we’ve struggled or lost in, we’ve hit the ball pretty well, so I think just keeping that going.

“And then defense, making sure we’re taking care of the ball when it’s hit to us or thrown to us. Doing the small things.”

Cascade put two more runs across after going down 7-1, but ultimately could not mount a comeback. Freshman Ellie Luraghi went 2-for-4 at the plate and started in the circle for 1 2/3 innings before junior Mia Walker took over for the remaining 4 1/3, where she struck out three batters. Junior Marisa Molina drove in two runs.

Junior Kodie Rasmussen led off with a walk for the Bruins in the first, and she got around to third via a steal and passed ball before junior Jayda Churchill brought her home with an RBI single to left field after working a full count. Walker singled to put two runners on, but Quintel retired the next two batters to strand them both.

Luraghi went 1-2-3 in the top of the second, but the bottom of the Vikings order got things rolling in the third. After Roller sparked the rally and Emme hit her two-run shot, junior Aaliyah Allestad singled, and senior Emerson Cummins and Quintel each walked on a full count to load the bases.

Roller came back to the plate for the second time in the inning and blooped a base-clearing hit into shallow right field to make it 7-1.

“Those kind of hits, they’re bloopers. They kind of get you where you need to go,” Roller said. “And when you score some extra runs, it’s (good).”

Cascade pushed back with an RBI single from Molina in the bottom of the third, but Breckenridge led off the top of the fourth with a single and scored on a throwing error after reaching third on Bradley’s groundout to make it 8-2. Krich took over in the circle in the fourth and struck out her first two batters, allowing a bunt single before getting out of the frame by inducing a groundout. Cummins hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 9-2.

Molina drove in her second run of the night in the fifth, scoring Churchill on a groundout to cut it to 9-3, but Lake Stevens ended the frame when Emme picked off Walker at third from behind the plate. The catcher also caught another runner stealing second in the third inning.

“The communication from the dugout, being able to know that that runner’s there, and being able to trust my first and my third basemen for those pickoffs at one and three, it really plays a big role in (our infield defense),” Emme said. “So I think just having this strong communication and trust in my teammates really helps.”

The Vikings tacked on their final run in the top of the seventh thanks to a pair of pinch hitters. Freshman Elliott Ross doubled to center and advanced to third on an error before freshman Davyn Williams brought her home with an RBI single in the next at-bat.

Lake Stevens has four more games left in the regular season, including three against league opponents. The Vikings hope their past two wins can set the momentum for a push into the postseason.

“I feel like that Roosevelt game (a 5-2 win on Saturday), something just clicked,” Roller said. “We’ve made those adjustments, and we’re getting good plays. Even when crappy calls got made, we bounce back.”