Kamiak softball shuts out Jackson

Published 10:25 pm Monday, April 20, 2026

MILL CREEK — It did not take long for Jackson softball to get a hit off Kamiak pitcher Synclair Mawudeku at Jackson High School on Monday. Freshman Clara Dorgan, the opposing pitcher and No. 2 hitter, sent a single into right field in the bottom of the first inning.

Even though Mawudeku retired the next two batters to send it to the second inning, perhaps that initial hit would be just the beginning of a productive outing in a crucial Wesco 4A matchup.

Or perhaps that would be the best chance Jackson would get all afternoon.

Mawudeku allowed just two more base-runners down the stretch — one via hit-by-pitch in the sixth and one via walk in the seventh — while striking out seven to lead the Knights (9-3, 5-0 league) to a 6-0 victory against the Timberwolves (6-8, 3-2 league). The senior, who also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored at the plate, needed just 75 pitches to get the job done.

Working with catcher Olivia Martinez behind the plate for the second year in a row, Mawudeku has established a strong rapport with the sophomore that has caused trouble for opposing hitters all season.

“She knows my pitching really well, and she knows what I like to throw,” Mawudeku said. “(She knows) what’s working and when something’s not working. We talk a lot throughout the game about, like, the combinations of pitches that we want to throw, and I think that is really helpful for when they see me a couple times throughout the lineup. We’ll always mix it up a little bit.”

That communication extends through the rest of the dugout and manifests itself with a clean infield defense that backed up Mawudeku anytime Jackson put a ball in play, which was much needed on Monday. Kamiak took a 1-0 lead in the third and did not add any insurance runs until the final two innings, with Dorgan pitching a similarly strong game until the Knights bats came to life in the seventh with four consecutive base hits.

Kamiak has just five upperclassmen on the roster, and the remaining eight players are new to varsity. Despite this, the Knights won their fourth straight game and now sit two games ahead of Jackson and Lake Stevens atop the Wesco 4A standings.

“I can feel the chemistry just getting better and better,” Kamiak coach Ann Bradley said. “Their hitting is getting better, their defense is getting better. They’ve really figured each other out, which when you start with so many new players, it takes a little while. And they jelled, I think, really quickly.”

In addition to Mawudeku, junior Riley Karabach scored two runs and drove in another while going 2-for-2, and freshman Mila McIntosh went 2-for-4 with two RBI. As for Jackson, Dorgan logged the only hit, and prior to the seventh inning, allowed just three hits and two runs before settling with a final line of seven hits, four walks and six runs allowed as well as eight strikeouts.

Each pitcher allowed a single base-runner in the first inning before going 1-2-3 in the second, but a Karabach walk and stolen base to lead off the top of the third gave the Knights the first runner in scoring position. A bunt single from Mawudeku put runners on the corners, and Karabach scored on a wild pitch to give Kamiak a 1-0 lead.

Mawudeku breezed through the next three innings to keep the Timberwolves scoreless, with some help from the infielders. Jackson junior Madison Jacquot appeared poised to reach base on a grounder that bounced over the first baseman’s glove, but second baseman Kenzie Barrington positioned herself behind the play to scoop up the ball and make the easy putout.

“(Barrington) had her back the whole time,” Bradley said of the freshman, who stepped up for a teammate without much experience playing first. “There was that play that could have easily been an error, but Kenzie was right there to clean it up. They just know each other’s strengths, and they know how to make sure that if their strength is not being strong, they know how to come in and rise and bring them up to what they need to do.”

After ending the fifth with two strikeouts in the circle, Mawudeku led off the sixth at the plate by working an 0-2 count into a walk. A bunt single from McIntosh moved her over to third, and Barrington hit an RBI groundout that allowed Mawudeku to slide into home just before the tag to extend the lead to 2-0. She faced the minimum three batters for a fourth straight inning in the sixth, and the Knights rallied for four more runs after quickly getting two outs in the top of the seventh.

Entering the game as a pinch-hitter, sophomore Evelyn Boudon worked a walk. Bradley praised her patience at the plate, since many pinch hitters will feel pressure to force a swing when they shouldn’t, and Boudon’s walk set the table for Karabach to bring her home with an RBI double to center field to push it to 3-0.

“I really didn’t want to do anything too big because we were up and we just needed to add more runs,” Karabach said. “So I just relaxed and tried to do what I did the innings before. … My teammates always do a really good job about communicating the pitches, especially (Bradley) always does a good job telling us what we should in the batter’s box, and she told me to move up in the box because we were super late, so I did that and it worked out.”

The junior advanced to third on the throw, which made it an easy score when senior Cam Hansen singled up the middle. Mawudeku blooped a single and advanced to second to set McIntosh up with two runners in scoring position, and the freshman scored both with a base hit up the middle to settle the rally at 6-0.

The late surge fit the M.O. that Bradley has noticed throughout the season. The Knights strike out a lot in their first time through the order, then pop up often during the second time before finally turning that contact into line drives the third time through. Teammates are helping each other make adjustments, and the key the rest of the season will be executing on those adjustments sooner.

In the bottom of the seventh, Mawudeku fittingly closed the game by fielding a grounder directly to her.

“It was a very clean game,” Mawudeku said. “I feel like being really close with all of the girls helps build a really good trust on and off the field, so it helps give me confidence when I’m pitching.”

Anytime Mawudeku is in the circle, that feeling of confidence is mutual among her teammates, who have put themselves in a solid position entering the final eight games of the regular season.