Mavs dominate first round of state tournament
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months AGO
The Mavs’ Lila Johnson (7) sprints to first base against Lake Washington. The Mavericks slowpitch softball defeated Lake Washington 21-0 in the first round of the 4A state tournament game on Friday.
MIKE MAYNARD/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
YAKIMA – The Mavericks slowpitch softball team is off to a hot start in the 4A state tournament after defeating eighth-seed Lake Washington 21-0 in the first round. Head Coach Mike Hofheins said while he liked what he saw, it’s important they remain focused on sustaining their momentum.
“I've said it all year, when we're playing our best softball, we're going to be hard to beat. If we can continue that and pitch that good and have that potent offense and play good defense, we'll play anybody,” he said.
After a quick defensive outing at the top of the first inning, the Mavs jumped out to a monstrous 10-0 lead. Most of the dugout contributed to the offensive effort in the first inning, including Hayden Morris with her signature home run that also scored Lila Johnson.
In the bottom of the second inning, Samantha Kling, Mya Martinez and Avery Getzinger added three more scores to their score to take a 13-0 lead heading into the third inning. Their offensive hot streak continued in the third and fourth innings with four runs in each to take the 21-0 lead over Lake Washington.
Strong pitching by Anisa Valdez struck out Lake Washington’s first batter in the top of the fifth. From there, the Mavericks defense was quick to pick up two ground balls to record two more outs and officially win the game.
Alongside Morris, three more batters hit home runs for the Mavericks. Getzinger, Martinez and Addi Reffett also sent moon shots into the tree line. The offensive success of the Mavericks was fed by their high energy in the dugout. Hofheins said that is attributed to the leadership that trickles down from the seniors.
“They just exude confidence, and it carries over to the younger kids. We got some kids playing in their first state tournament ever, and varsity athletics for the first time ever. That bottom half of our lineup did some damage today, and it's a confidence thing. I think they feed off the older girls, and it's a testament to their leadership,” he said.
After their hot start, the Mavs are set to play fourth-seed Skyview at 5 p.m. at Kiwanis Park. If they ride their momentum to victory, they will advance to the state championship game Saturday. A win feels great, but Hofheins and the Mavericks are motivated to finish what they started.
“The job is not over, so we got to crank it back up for the five o'clock game,” Hofheins said.
Additional coverage of the Mavericks state tournament results will be updated throughout the weekend.
BOX SCORE:
LKWA: 0-0-0-0-0: 0
MAVS: 10-3-4-4-X: 21
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