Lady Stag Softball Sweeps District Championships

Two seasons in the class 2A Greater Spokane League and the list of "first-evers" has grown for the Deer Park Lady Stags fastpitch program. Last spring it was the first-ever regular season title in either the slowpitch or fastpitch phase since the program’s inception in the mid-1980s. After falling short of state qualifying last spring, the spring of 2026 brought the first-ever sweep of regular season and district championships. The first obstacle was East Valley on May 13. Pitcher Hailey Thompson set the tone in the top of the opening frame by retiring the Knights in order. The Lady Stags bats awakened quickly as Emme Bogle led off the game with a single, and Lucy Lathrop followed with a "no doubter" home run pulled down the left field line, clearing the fence by a large margin. Jillian Marshall and Thompson would also score as the Deer Park bats connected on four hits for a 4-0 lead. Bogle led off the second inning getting hit by a pitch, then Lathrop and Kapri Bailey hit backto-back homers. Thompson and Katelyn Reiter reached base and scored as five more hits and an additional five runs were added to the Lady Stags total for a 9-0 lead after two innings. In the bottom of the third, Hailee Orgill tripled and Bogle doubled. Both scored for the final 11-0 margin as the Lady Stags punched their ticket to state. In addition to her pair of long balls, Lathrop scored twice and drove in four. Bogle had three runs on two hits while Bailey had three hits. Thompson aided her own cause with three hits while Ally Ellingson had two hits, including a triple. Cheyanne Thomas scored twice. The district title game matched the Lady Stags and Clarkston on May 15. Thompson worked out of a two-runnerson-with-no-outs jam by striking out the next three batters to again set the table for the offense. Bogle led off with a single, then Lathrop was hit by a pitch. That set the stage for Marshall to give Deer Park a 3-0 lead with a long blast to left center. Five singles would generate four more runs in the bottom of the second inning, extending the Lady Stags advantage to 9-1. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bantams would commit four errors, leading to four more Deer Park tallies and an 11-1 lead. Marshall drilled her second home run in the bottom of the fifth, and the lead was 12-3 as Clarkston had scored two in the top of the frame. In the bottom of the sixth, Lathrop lofted a fly ball to right center field that cleared the fence for her 20th home run of the season and served as the clinching moment as the Lady Stags lead was greater than 10 and the game ended on the mercy rule. While the Lady Stags celebrated the district championship, they also learned that same day that, for the second consecutive season, they are the 2A fastpitch state academic champions with a grade point average of 3.785. Also last week, the Greater Spokane League announced their all league selections. Lady Stags honorees included: Lathrop, league Most Valuable Player; first team: Bogle, infield, and Bailey, utility player; second team: Marshall, infield, Leah Ellingson, outfield, Ally Ellingson, outfield, and Mady Ellingson, utility player; and honorable mentions: Thomas and Orgill.