EVERETT — Before the Everett High School softball team’s emphatic victory over Snohomish, it had been nearly a decade since the Seagulls held a district championship trophy in their hands.
Everett broke through in a major way on Thursday night, capturing its first Class 3A District 1 title since 2015 with a dominant 10-0 win over the Panthers at Phil Johnson Ballfields.
Seagulls freshman Mia Hoekendorf started in the circle and spearheaded a no-hitter, tallying six strikeouts while walking eight across five innings. Fellow freshman Anna Luscher took over and struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth, triggering a 10-run mercy rule.
“This is awesome,” Everett head coach Mike Millar said. “I’m super excited about this group, they’ve worked really hard. It showed today, and it showed this whole week.”
The No. 1 seeded Panthers (18-6), who were competing in their ninth straight district championship tilt, went a previous 15-0 this season against Wesco 3A/2A opponents headed into Thursday’s title bout.
For Hoekendorf and the third-seeded Seagulls (17-6), who already stamped their ticket to state on Tuesday with an 11-4 win over Cascade, revenge in a district title setting made the win even sweeter.
“It’s just really fun,” Hoekendorf said. “I knew they could hit, so my goal was to pitch hittable pitches into my field work but it just happened to work out that they didn’t hit. … After we lost to them this year and to be able to come back and beat them, it just makes it extra special.”
Hoekendorf also chipped in on the offensive side, contributing a two-RBI triple as the Seagulls claimed their 10-run cushion in the top of the sixth frame. A six-score inning in the top of the second put Everett firmly in the driver’s seat. Isa Davis, Emma Hoffman and Maddie Pewitt all drove in runs in the pivotal second-inning push.
Despite drawing eight walks, the Panthers’ batting order couldn’t spark together enough at the plate to loosen Everett’s lead.
“We’ve got two freshman pitchers and I’ve been telling them all year to pound the zone and lets see if the other team can string together enough hits in a row to score some runs,” Millar said. “And more often than not, I don’t think they can. … That’s been our message to our young pitchers, and they’ve just gotten better and better. I’m happy with where we’re at, and super happy for the girls.”
Other 3A state-qualifying games
Cascade 8, Meadowdale 7
Allison Gehrig’s first-inning grand slam helped lift the Bruins to their second consecutive state tournament berth.
Seventh-seeded Cascade used a five-run initial frame and held on in the seventh to defeat the Mavericks in a winner-to-state game.
Mia Walker pitched a complete game and picked up the win for the Bruins (13-11), striking out five on one walk, allowing 13 hits. Lauryn Thompson was 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and double, while Kodie Rasmussen went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Mia Cantu and Olivia Brown each went 3-for-4 for Meadowdale.
Stanwood 14, Monroe 4 (5)
Karsen Bilow homered twice while Rubi Lopez, Madilynn Rel and Reagan Ryan all had homers as Stanwood handled Monroe in a winner-to-state matchup.
The second-seeded Spartans (18-5) went a red-hot 18-for-32 at the plate as they booked their second-consecutive state berth following a previous 13-year drought.
Vivian Knuckey homered while Hadley Oylear went 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Bearcats.
Monroe 10, Meadowdale 3
After shaking off a non-elimination loss to Stanwood, Monroe rebounded with a state-clinching victory over Meadowdale.
The fifth-seeded Bearcats (16-9) topped the No. 4 Mavericks (14-10) in a winner-to-state, loser-out tilt behind a strong showing from the top of the lineup card.
Oylear (2-for-3, four RBI), Brooke Boswell (2-for-4, three RBI) and Scarlett Nagy (1-for-3, two RBI) all homered, while Knuckey also had a 2-for-3 showing at the plate.
Analise Griffiths and Jaeden Sajec each had three hits for Meadowdale.
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