Softball sluggers Savina Wells (left) and Madison McMillan combined for seven hits Monday at the state tournament. (Katy Wells photo)
On to day four!
Winning an elimination game for the second day in a row, the Whidbey Island All-Star juniors softball team thumped Mukilteo 16-5 Monday at the state tournament in Vancouver.
A royal rumble which began with eight teams now has just four left, and another will fall Tuesday.
That will come when Whidbey faces North Kitsap at 8 PM in a battle of squads which are 2-1 at the big dance.
Earlier in the evening Tuesday, Camas (2-0) and Kirkland (2-0) will play, with the victor advancing to the championship round, which goes down Thursday.
The Whidbey/North Kitsap winner goes toe-to-toe Wednesday with the Camas/Kirkland loser, with the winner of that one needing to win twice Thursday to claim a state title.
Monday’s showdown was expected to be a barn burner, with Mukilteo among the favorites entering the tourney.
Instead, Whidbey, even playing without injured slugger Loto Tupu, came out firing and never gave their foes a chance.
The Inferno exploded for five quick runs in the top of the first, added another score in the second, then broke things open.
A six-run fourth inning included a massive three-run home run from Coupeville’s Katie Marti, while four more runs in the fifth sealed the deal.
Well, almost, as Mukilteo made Whidbey work for it, pushing five runs across in the bottom of the fifth before falling a run shy of preventing the 10-run mercy rule from being enacted.
The game ended on a foul ball which soared behind the plate, then nestled soft and safe into the waiting mitt of Whidbey catcher Teagan Calkins.
The Inferno offense came alive under the lights, with Haylee Burleigh lighting the fuse all night.
Haylee Burleigh was dynamic, collecting four hits and playing inspired defense at shortstop. (Jackie Saia photo)
The Oak Harbor slugger got the first hit in all four innings in which Whidbey scored, spraying three singles to go with a resounding triple to right field in the top of the second.
In the first, Whidbey made sure Mukilteo knew what was up, with its first five hitters delivering base-knocks to rattle the rival hurler.
Burleigh slapped a single to right, followed by singles from Lilly Norman and Calkins, then the big guns started firing.
A day after crushing an out-of-the-park home run, mighty masher Madison McMillan cranked a triple to left field, with Savina Wells following her blast with a double to deep center.
A few batters down the lineup, Taylor Brotemarkle smoked an RBI single of her own, and the rout was on.
Up 6-0 heading into the fourth, the Inferno bunched together another batch of hits, with everyone in the lineup getting in on the fun.
Burleigh (yep, her again) singled, Jada Heaton walloped a double, Calkins and McMillan poked singles, and then it was time for Marti to get medieval on the softball.
Katie Marti can kill you with her bat or her glove. (Jackie Saia photo)
Flexing like grandpa Paul Messner used to do right before he ran wild on the football field in the ’60s (or so I’ve been told), the prairie powerhouse jumped on a ball, sending a screaming liner to far-away right field.
Churning her legs as fast as they would go, Marti never broke stride, barreling around the bags as two teammates tapped home ahead of her, applying the punctuation mark to the Inferno assault.
Still flushed with pride, Breeanna Messner’s cousin was honored after the game for hitting the first “legit inside the park home run” of the tourney.
And that could have been it, but these bats don’t take many breaks.
Whidbey added another four runs from there, with Burleigh (she’s back, baby!), Calkins, Adyson Morales, and Payton Ludemann all crunching key base-knocks.
With a generous scorebook keeper, the Inferno racked up an eye-popping 24 hits, with Wells and Burleigh leading the way with four apiece.
Calkins (3), McMillan (3), Marti (2), Layla Suto (2), Morales (2), Norman (1), Ludemann (1), Heaton (1), and Brotemarkle (1) all joined the hit parade, while Mia Farris provided the intangibles for a Whidbey squad which continues to fly high.
Wells was “lights out” in the pitcher’s circle, while her backing crew was primed for success.
“Defense was awesome,” said Inferno coach Fred Farris. “Haylee (Burleigh) is the real deal at shortstop!!”
Ludemann made “a great catch in right field,” while Calkins “played perfect in center then (at) catcher.”
Every girl on the roster had an impact, even those who are battling injuries.
“Lilly was a warrior again with the sore ankle,” Fred Farris said. “And Loto was in the dugout in her walking boot keeping them fired up!”
Coach Kimberly Brotemarkle and Teagan Calkins celebrate good times. (Jackie Saia photo)
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