Stanwood softball reaches first state quarterfinal since 2010

LACEY — With every strike she threw at the Regional Athletic Complex on Friday, Addi Anderson would point to her catcher, Jordan Rancourt, and smile.

In the third inning of Stanwood softball’s Round of 16 matchup against Roosevelt in the 3A State Tournament, Anderson tossed a pitch that drew a check swing from Samantha Wright. The first base umpire ruled it was not a swing, to the dismay of the Stanwood fan section. But Anderson still smiled.

She didn’t need it, and why would she? With 13 strikeouts for the top-seed Spartans (21-3) in a 3-0 win against the No. 17-seed Rough Riders, Anderson could let a couple of calls slide.

“I just kind of shake it off no matter what,” Anderson said. “Because I know that I can get her, my team can get her. So I’m just like, ‘Okay, either way, she gets an opportunity to hit it.’ I know Rubi (Lopez) picked me up, like what, four times at shortstop? So I know they’ll be able to get me out of it. So I just try to stay happy and smile.”

Thanks to Anderson’s pitching (7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 13 K) and three different batters driving in runs, Stanwood advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. After winning the District 1 3A Championship on May 15, the Spartans keep rolling with a team culture that has developed into the best it’s been since the senior class has been in the program. Last year, according to Anderson and Lopez, the team knew they had the individual talent, but did not really vocalize support for each other as a team.

This year, that changed. The group is so united and connected, Anderson and Lopez even finished each other’s sentences.

“It’s not even about the talent,” Lopez said. “Just about how we—“

“How much we, like, love each other,” Anderson continued. “How much we care for each other. How much we have each other’s back and stuff. We want the person next to us to—“

“Just playing for your team,” Lopez said, jumping back in.

The Spartans got started right away. After Anderson retired the side with two strikeouts in the top of the first inning, Reagan Ryan (1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI) hit a two-out single and stole second to get in scoring position. In the next at-bat, Anderson (1-for-3, 1 RBI) worked a full count before bringing Ryan home with a single to right field.

Roosevelt responded with back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs in the top of the second. Stanwood coach Patrick Ryan walked out to check in on Anderson’s pitch location, and assured her to just play her game. Anderson didn’t flinch, striking out each of the next three batters to escape the inning unscathed.

“It’s not about the fear,” Patrick Ryan said. “It’s about, ‘Okay, what’s in front of us? And what do we have to do to combat that?’ And they’ve done that all season long. It seems every time their back is against the wall, whether it’s Addi or defense or offense, they’re stepping up and doing their job.”

Stanwood created some run support in the bottom of the third, where Olivia Dahl (1-for-2, R) sparked a rally with a leadoff double. Lopez (1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) followed it up with a double of her own to bring Dahl home, and after Taylor Almanza (0-for-2) bunted her over to third, Ryan hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 3-0.

“I feel like our team, what we do best, is we just get other teams into a blender,” Lopez said. “It’s either singles, doubles, stealing, bunts. Like any way we can, we just, like, fight to get on base, and it’s so important.”

Roosevelt did its part to keep the game close, robbing Rancourt (1-for-3) of a home run over the center field fence in the fourth, and making a running catch in left field to prevent Reagan Ryan from driving in a run at the end of the fifth. But Anderson and the defense never folded. Fittingly, Anderson ended the game by striking out her 13th batter.

The Spartans advanced to face the No. 8 seed Garfield later on Friday afternoon. It’s the same team that ended their season last year, but Anderson was quick to point out that this team — this year — is not the same as before.

“We’ve changed a lot since last year,” Anderson said. “So we’re like, ‘They don’t even know who we are yet.’”

In a few hours, they’ll find out.