PORTLAND – The Lake Breeze fastpitch softball team ended its season on a high note, but not the highest possible note.
The Lake Stevens-based select team, comprised of prep standouts from Snohomish and Skagit counties, ran off a remarkable string of seven straight victories in triple-digit heat to win the Amateur Softball Association 18-U “A” Northwest Regional championship on July 23 at Portland’s Delta Park.
“To win seven games in one day, in over 100 degree heat, has to be my coaching highlight,” said Margo Leiter, who began coaching the team in 1997. “I have never seen 12 players play with such heart, to leave it all on the field that way.”
Led by the pitching quartet of Ashly Forsberg (Monroe High), Cory Mattson (Everett), Hillary Barker (Cedarcrest) and Brittany Howell (Concrete), Lake Breeze went 9-1 in the double-elimination tournament and outscored its opponents 52-18.
In the championship round, Lake Breeze defeated the Kelso-based NW Outlaws twice, earning the regional title and the chance to move on to national ASA 18-U “A” tournament this week in Owensboro, Ky.
A chance the players elected to let pass.
Voting as a team, the players decided to skip the national tournament and end Lake Breeze’s season.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever done that in my life,” Leiter said. “I’ve been to nationals every year since I’ve been coaching.”
Accepting the national berth would have meant leaving for Kentucky last Saturday, disrupting the plans of several players and leading to the group’s decision to stay home.
Barker homered in the opening game of the championship round to give Lake Breeze a 1-0 victory over the NW Outlaws, setting up the winner-take-all final game of the tournament.
All four Lake Breeze pitchers worked the final game, a 10-7 come-from-behind victory. Trailing 7-6 in the top of the seventh, Lake Breeze rallied to score four runs. University of Akron-bound Krista Hansen of Arlington was 4-for-4 at the plate.
“Every single player had a highlight moment during the day,” Leiter recalled of the seven-game win streak. “It was a true team effort.”
The remaining Lake Breeze team members were Jenna Mohrweis, Miranda Rosebrook, Alyssa Pappas, Jackie Ellerman, Ashley Todd, Carly Feiro and Jill Barnett.
Allen Leiter, Charlie Crosson and Amy Hudson, an Everett High alum and recent invitee to a USA Softball selection camp, were the assistant coaches.
Mill Creek girls win state title: The Mill Creek 11-12 softball Little League team won the state championship on July 22 at Stan Hedwall Park in Chehalis.
Mill Creek, which went 4-0 in the double-elimination tournament and outscored its opponents 44-4, defeated Tahoma 11-0 in the title game and advanced to the regional tournament in Vancouver, Wash.
In its first game at the regional tourney on Monday, Mill Creek defeated a team from Lewiston, Idaho, 9-0.
Team members were Matti Tetzlaff, Lindsay Robison, Jessica Mirante, Megan Cooley, Bonnie Muscat, Elizabeth Aagard, Erin Bueser, Maddy Mertens, Dewey Davis, K.C. Wilson, Kelsey Mason, Lauren Stewart and Chandra Tewari. The team was coached by John Mirante and Kori Robinson and managed by Gil Ayala.
Baseball
Snohomish County Express wins title: The Snohomish County Express 13U Pony baseball team defeated the MVP Vipers 5-4 to win the Pacific Northwest Select Baseball Championship on July 27 at Island Crest Park in Mercer Island.
Coached by Gerry Klep, the team is comprised of 13 players from Snohomish County with 11 coming from Marysville.
Team members were Andrew Huerta, Riley McKinley, Adam Sylvester, Kyle Kinkley, Logan Kegley, Kyle VanDalen, JV Estella, Tyler Thompson, Brandon Barrett, Tylor Klep and Kyle Flanders. Mike Thompson and Steve McKinley served as co-coaches.
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