With about two weeks to go in the regular season, the Shorecrest softball team realized a fourth straight Western Conference South Division title wasn’t in the cards.
Rather than mope, the Scots shifted their focus to the playoffs.
“We looked at the last four games and pretty much knew we weren’t going to win Wesco,” Shorecrest coach Kristie Oglesby said. “So we said, ‘OK, our next goal is to win a district championship.’”
Shorecrest fulfilled that objective with a 6-0 victory over Anacortes in Monday’s Northwest District 3A championship game at Janicki Fields in Sedro-Woolley.
It was the third district title in a row for the Scots, who take a No. 1 seed to this week’s Class 3A state tournament.
Shortstop Emily Gould was 2-for-4 with two RBI and first baseman Geneva Hale was 2-for-3 with a double to lead Shorecrest. Junior pitcher Ashley Morrison collected 11 strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Gould hit a two-run single in the first inning and added an RBI single in the third to help the Scots take a 3-0 lead. Two more runs scored on passed balls in the seventh.
In three district tournament games, Shorecrest outscored its opposition 12-1. The Scots (18-5) take a six-game win streak into state that includes five shutouts.
“We’re playing the way we should be playing at this point in the season,” Oglesby said. “We’re hitting the ball and we’re playing great defense.”
Key defensive plays paced the Scots to a 2-1 semifinal win over Northwest League champion Sedro-Woolley. Morrison had just four strikeouts, so Shorecrest relied on error-free fielding to squash a series of Sedro-Woolley rallies.
After picking up a run in their first at-bats, the Cubs left runners stranded in scoring position four times in the winner-to-state contest.
“We played incredible defense and got out of tough situations,” Oglesby said. “We’re not buckling under pressure. We’re staying focused and not getting frazzled.”
Shorecrest is scheduled to face Holy Names to open the state playoffs at 11 a.m. this morning at South End Recreation Area Fields in Tacoma. The winner plays the winner of Sequim/Yelm in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m.
With three straight appearances in state title games — Shorecrest won the 4A crown in 2001, took second at the 4A tournament in 2002 and was the 3A runner-up last year — Oglesby acknowledged the Scots have targets on their backs.
“We know in the back of our heads … teams are after us,” Oglesby said. “But we don’t feel any pressure. We take it as a compliment. I don’t think it worries the girls at all.”
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