Spring or summer, Madison McMillan punishes softballs. (Jackie Saia photo)
Swing for the fences and aim for success.
Cranking four home runs and 14 extra-base hits, the Whidbey Island Thunder 18U softball squad won four of five at a 14-team tourney in Kent this past weekend, coming up just a run short of capturing a title.
The hard-hitting squad swept through pool play with a perfect 3-0 record, came out on top in the semifinals, then fell 3-2 in a tightly contested Gold Bracket championship bout.
“I am so extremely impressed with how these girls have come together the last few weeks and just shown everybody that the little Whidbey Thunder organization is something to be reckoned with,” said coach Matt Suto.
“They left their hearts out on the field, and they smiled even after they lost,” he added. “These girls have worked hard all year long and we are eventually going to get that championship win.”
The Thunder came out on fire, with Madison McMillan and EmmaJoy Wise launching longballs to center in a 4-2 win over the Washington Freedom.
McMillan, one of three Coupeville sluggers on the roster along with Teagan Calkins and Taylor Brotemarkle, sent her tater flying 240+ feet, dropping jaws in both dugouts.
With her teammates teeing off, and a strong defense at work behind her, Thunder hurler Grace Swenson got the win in the pitcher’s circle, then handed the ball off to Zoe Abbott for game #2.
Late-game offensive heroics from Anna Friedrichs and Hayden Davies lifted Whidbey to a 4-3 win, before the all-star squad pasted their next foe 12-0 to wrap up a perfect run through pool play.
Ramona Ryder made it three Whidbey pitchers, and three wins, while Layla Suto cracked a three-run homerun to fuel the offensive surge.
“The girls just kept pounding the ball and being aggressive on the bases,” Matt Suto said.
The Whidbey Thunder celebrate a second-place finish at a 14-team tourney. (Photo courtesy Matt Suto)
The Thunder went into Sunday’s semifinals as the #1 team, marking the second weekend in a row they had achieved that feat.
This time out, Whidbey beat the Whatcom Wolverines 6-3 with Swenson dealing from the circle and Layla Suto making a phenomenal snag to rob her rivals of a potential home run.
“This was the championship game in my opinion,” Matt Suto said. “I have personally waited three years to beat this team and the girls came out fired up ready to play ball.
“Swenson pitched an absolute dime of a game in the circle, backed by multiple plays that secured the victory for us.”
While the bats were potent, it was the gloves which carried the day.
“We had killer defense in the infield — nothing got by the girls,” Matt Suto said. “They were putting their bodies and everything in front of the ball and they knocked the ball down and threw everyone out.”
Whatcom had one final chance, cramming the bags full of runners with their top hitter strolling to the plate.
To which Swenson said, “No Ma’am, not today. Not on my watch.”
The duo battled through a nine-pitch at-bat, before Whidbey’s ace “dug deep, got her pitch where she wanted it, and struck her out,”
Swenson then doubled her fun, whiffing the game’s final batter to send her team into the championship tilt.
“The championship game Zoe pitched an amazing game,” Matt Suto said. “Unfortunately, we had one mistake that cost us three runs, and that was it.”
Layla Suto clobbered a two-run homer to keep Whidbey within one run, but that was where things ended.
“We fought to the very end,” Matt Suto said. “We just ran out of steam.”
The Thunder wrap their season with a trip to Kent next weekend, before players head back to their individual schools.
Weekend stats:
Zoe Abbott — One single
Teagan Calkins — One single, two doubles, four walks
Hayden Davies — One single, one walk
Anna Friedrichs — Three singles
Madison McMillan — Two singles, one double, one triple, one home run, one walk
Mia Regan — Two singles
Ramona Ryder — One single, one double, two walks
Layla Suto — Two singles, one double, two home runs, two walks
Grace Swenson — One single
Loto Tupu — Three singles, one double
EmmaJoy Wise — Three singles, three doubles, one home run, one walk
Coupeville Sports 
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