Courtesy article by Gerardo Bolong

RICHLAND - On the morning of Sat., May 30, District IV Southwest Washington No. 2 Montesano struck early and stifled West Central District III champion Seattle Christian bats for a 10-1 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires 1A state softball semifinal victory against Seattle Christian on Sat. morning, May 30, to stop the Warrior bid for the 2015 championship. Montesano's Bulldogs moved on to defeat Evergreen Conference rival and District IV title holder Hoquiam 7-1 in the title matchup while Seattle Christian faced Connell later in the day for a chance to qualify to the third/fourth place game and state hardware opportunity.

"We could never get anything going offensively," Seattle Christian head coach Rick Ronish said. "It was a good pitching performance from Montesano. They put the pressure on us defensively from the very first hitter. They proved to us why they were the best team in the state."

Montesano arose and shined quickly in the 9 a.m. confrontation with a two-run first inning salvo.
In the third inning, the Bulldogs from Grays Harbor to padded their lead with Allyssa Gustafson capping a four-run rally on a two-run homer over the left-field fence for a 6-0 Montesano margin.

Seattle Christian notched a tally in the home half of the inning. Back-to-back Montesano errors followed by a wild pitch gave Carlee Ronish the chance to single home Madison Fors.

The Bulldogs struck for lone tallies in each of the final for innings while the Warriors were unable to dent the scoreboard again.

Pitcher Madison Didion shackled the Warriors on a four-hitter that featured seven strikeouts and no walks.

For the Warriors, head coach Ronish cited sophomore third baseman Carlee Ronish.

"She was spectacular in the field with four assists and two put outs."

Seattle Christian's four hits came from Carlee Ronish (1-for-2), Fors (1-for-2), Lisa Kumasaka (1-for-3) and Kelli Ronish (1-for-3).

Gustafson had a trio of hits and three RBI to pace Montesano.