Once beaten District 2 East Jefferson/Sequim used steady and key hitting to subdue previously unbeaten District 1 Mill Creek 10-7 on Thursday, July 18, at Valley Ridge Ball Field No. 1 in SeaTac to qualify for a Friday, July 19, rematch against 1 Mill Creek for all the marbles at the 2013 Washington State Junior Little League Softball tournament hosted by District 7.
"We just kept hitting the ball," said District 2 manager Mike Eldridge. "The defense has been real solid and the pitching was perfect."
For the first four innings, the teams alternated scoring at bats. Only the fifth inning featured zero runs from each squad.
Mill Creek opened with a single tally in the top of the first inning. Alyssa Avalos reached first base on a two-out walk, giving Haley Cottingham the chance to drive her home on a deep triple into the left centerfield gap.
East Jefferson/Sequim answered with a roar of thunder in the bottom of the inning. Bradyn Nelson bunted for a single after Jordan Bentz had popped a single into the outfield. One out later, Michelle Nesbit tripled home two runs quickly followed by a run-scoring single by Ryley Eldridge.
An infield throwing error plus a walk set up Marley Fischtziur's two-run triple that enabled District 1 to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the second.
Nicole Anders singled before stealing second base and eventually scored on a misplayed infield grounder with two outs for a 4-3 East Jefferson/Sequim advantage.
Third inning salvos featured both teams scoring two runs. Avalos touched home on a wild pitch after previously singling and stealing second base ahead of a wild pitch. Kristina Day later hit a runner home on a single for Mill Creek.
Back came District 2 to score a pair of runs by way of a single each from Michelle Nesbit and Eldridge plus two errors.
Trailing 6-5, Mill Creek mustered up a lone tally in the fourth on a one-out, ground out by Kiara Tucker and the game was knotted a 6-6.
The eventual game winning scores by East Jefferson/Sequim came in the home half of the same inning. Two runs crossed home plate on a hit batter, a wild pitch and and an infield error. Shanya Nesbit closed out District 2's scoring with a sixth inning two-run single.
Left handed relief pitcher Eldridge gave up a run in the fourth inning and a run in the seventh on Day RBI single, but pitched 1-2-3 out scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth while allowing no hits in this period. Eldridge allowed two runs on two hits with five strike outs while retiring eight consecutive batter at one stretch in her four-inning stint. She also struck out the side in the fifth inning. After Mill Creek had scored one run in its seventh inning, Eldridge saw two men on base with two out before striking out the last batter.
"I just threw strikes," she said. "I used the fast ball that moves (from her left to right). I was a little nervous on the last batter because I was concerned about some of my pitches that weren't called strikes. That got me fired up."
District 2 finished with 10 runs on nine hits and seven errors as District 1 closed with seven runs on five hits and two errors.
Among the umpiring crew on this night were five men who will move on to higher level tournaments this summer. Chuck Ehret will go to the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Oregon (Aug. 8-14), while Jim Schroeder will work the Big League Softball World Series in Lower Sussex, Delaware (Aug. 4-10). Steve Plunkett will umpire at the Western Region Big League Softball tournament in Palmdale, California (July 20-27) as Bill Fitzharris travels to the Western Region Junior League Softball tournament in Tucson, Arizona (Aug. 1-9). Chuck Sacrison will be in Lower Sussex, Delaware, for the Senior League Softball World Series (Aug. 4-10).
