Stag Softball Hits All the Way to State

The Deer Park Lady Stags softball team earned the right to continue their season at the state tournament this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24, at Kiwanis Fields in Yakima with two wins in three district tournament games last week. The team traveled to Sageview High School in Pasco on Oct. 12 for their district tournament opener. After spotting the Lobos a 1-0 lead, Deer Park scored four runs each in the third, sixth, and seventh innings on their way to a 13-5 triumph. Kapri Bailey drove in five runs while hitting a pair of home runs.

Lexi Piper collected a team leading four hits, driving in three with a double and triple. From her position at the top of the Lady Stags batting order, Gracie Bircher scored three times with two doubles and three hits. Hailey Thompson scored twice on two hits with a double, while Lyla Shaler had two dou- bles on three hits. Jillian Marshall had a double and triple while scoring twice. Maleah Palmer, Makenzie Reynolds, and Keziah Callaham each had two hits. Two days later, at three-time defending state champion Mt. Spokane, the offense was limited to a single tally in a 12-1 defeat. On that same day, University eliminated Walla Walla, which sent the Titans to Deer Park on Oct. 16.

Following an ominous start with the Titans leadoff hitter connecting on a home run and University scoring three runs, the Deer Park bats warmed up rapidly. Bircher drilled the first pitch she saw to open the game over the left field fence and ignite a threerun, game-tying rally. The Lady Stags built a 17-6 lead before the visitors scored seven in the top of the fifth. The now battle-tested Lady Stags did not panic and came back to score three in the bottom of the fifth, increasing their cushion to 20-13. University scored just a single run in the top of the sixth, pushing the score to 20-14, four runs short of ending the game by leading by 10 or more after the fifth inning or later. Thompson and Bailey brought the lead to 23-14 with back-to-back long balls, which set the stage for Reynolds to end the contest.

The junior pitcher did just that, with a blast over the fence in left-center field. She ended the game with a team high of seven runs batted in and four hits. Bailey produced a stat line of five runs scored, five hits, and four runs driven. The junior hit three of the squad’s 11 which pushed their season total to 66. Marshall hit two homers and drove in three, with four hits and four runs scored. Bircher scored three times and drove in four with two homers and three hits. Piper scored three runs with three hits, including a double. Thompson drilled a pair of homers, scored twice, and drove in four. Callaham, who returned to the lineup in the district opener for the first time since an injury at Eastmont in the third game of the season, had a home run to go with two runs scored, two hits, and two runs driven in. Jaylee Gilbert scored three times with two hits, including a double, while Palmer scored twice. Deer Park is scheduled to open state tournament play against Columbia River from Vancouver at 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. The Lady Stags will face Ballard or Ridgeline in a second game on Friday.