EVERETT — The Stanwood High School softball team entered the district tournament as the ultimate underdog.
The Spartans squeaked into the field with the 12th and final seed and were immediately thrust into a win-or-go-home game against a team that had beaten them handily in the regular season.
But as the old saying goes, “It’s not about how your start, but how you finish.”
Stanwood isn’t finished yet, but it’s found its swing at the ideal time.
Madilynn Rel hit a grand slam, Eliot McDonald allowed only one hit during a complete game in the circle and 12th-seeded Stanwood extended its Cinderella postseason run by topping sixth-seeded Marysville Getchell 12-1 in five innings in a winner-to-state, loser-out Class 3A District 1 Tournament consolation bracket game Thursday at Phil Johnson Ballfields.
As a result, the tournament’s lowest-seeded team is heading to the state tournament. It’s the first state appearance for the Spartans since 2010 and just the third overall in program history.
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“They’re fantastic kids,” second-year Stanwood coach Patrick Ryan said. “When I showed up here last year, I had a philosophy and a plan that I wanted to implement, and these girls have bought into that plan and they listen and they learn and they grow every day. I knew if we could get into the tournament we’d be scary just because of how much they’ve grown and how much the trust each other.”
Stanwood players celebrate during a game between Marysville Getchell and Stanwood at Phil Johnson Ballfields in Everett, Washington on Thursday, May 18, 2023. Stanwood won, 12-1. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Stanwood (12-12) wasted little time and got on the board in the first inning on the strength of three consecutive doubles. McDonald’s double plated Scarlett McEwen and Karsen Bilow followed for a 2-0.
Marysville Getchell (13-10) got a run back in the bottom half of the inning Teagen Carroll’s sac fly, but it was all Spartans from there on out.
Rel hit a run-scoring single and Taylor Almanza added an RBI double in the third.
McDonald pushed across another with a double in the fourth and Rel broke the game open three batters later by sending a shot down the right-field line for her grand slam and a 9-1 lead.
“I was really proud of her,” Ryan said. “That moment kind of felt like we were moving in the right direction.”
Stanwood tacked on three more in the fifth to trigger the 10-run mercy rule and McDonald shut the door in the bottom half.
“I’m so excited because our team deserved this,” Rel said. “I’m really just happy.”
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