Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, May. 30, 2009

PREP SOFTBALL: Pioneers still chasing third place

Nooksack Valley fell in the quarterfinals on the first day of the Class 1A Softball State Tournament on Friday, May 29, but rebounded to keep its hopes of bringing home a trophy alive.

Onalaska scored the winning run in the top of the seventh inning of the quarterfinals, and Nooksack Valley wasn't able to answer in a 2-1 loss.

"It was a tough, tough game," Nooksack Valley coach Tom Harmon said in a phone interview. "There wasn't a lot of scoring, and neither team wanted to budge. Every time one team would get a hit, the other team would just shut them down."

That was until the seventh, when Onalaska got a one-out double down the left field line and followed that up with a base hit back up the middle to break a 1-1 tie.

The Pioneers (20-6) had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, when Kelsey Lambert picked up a two-out hit and took second base on a passed ball.

"We just couldn't get it done," Harmon said. "We couldn't find a way to bring her home."

But rather than packing it in to make an early trip back to Whatcom County, Harmon was pleased to see his team answer with a 5-1 victory over River View in the consolation bracket.

"Everybody was hot and tired, but the kids mentally pulled it all together," Harmon said. "The seniors stepped up and showed some leadership and we did some team building exercises, and it worked. I was very happy to see us turn it around in that 6 p.m. game, especially after losing a tough one like that."

Nooksack Valley scored three runs in the first inning and never allowed River View to get any momentum. Chelsea Pike picked up a pair of big RBI in the game, and Erika Ramstead struck out eight batters, giving her 26 strikeouts in the first day of the tournament.

Ramstead had a dozen Ks and a pair of hits and Joanne Tevelde scored two runs in the Pioneers' opening round 5-3 win over Zillah.

Nooksack Valley now faces Cascade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, in another elimination game, and needs at least two straight wins to secure at least fourth place in the tournament.

"I think we need to look at getting ourselves prepped for that 10 a.m. game first," Harmon said. "We need to get up early and shake all the cooties out and get ready to play. For any team in a two-day tournament like this, it's hard to play at 100 percent. You're pretty luck if you can play at 60 or 70 percent. So we need to make sure we bring our best 60 percent and see what we've got."

NOOKSACK VALLEY 5, ZILLAH 3

Zillah 000 201 0 - 3 4 6

Nooksack Valley 104 000 0 - 5 4 0

WP: Erika Ramstead (16-5). LP: Salverda. Highlights: Nooksack Valley: Erika Ramstead 2-3, 1 RBI; Joanne Tevelde 1-3, 2 runs.

ONALASKA 2, NOOKSACK VALLEY 1

Onalaska 000 100 1 - 2 10 1

Nooksack Valley 000 100 0 - 1 9 1

WP: Erika Ramstead (16-6). LP: Barnes. Highlights: Nooksack Valley: Erika Ramstead 2-3; Breanna Warner 2-3, Kelsey Lambert 2-3.

NOOKSACK VALLEY 5, RIVER VIEW 1

River View 000 001 0 - 1 6 1

Nooksack Valley 301 100 0 - 5 7 2

WP: Erika Ramstead (17-6). LP: Hess. Highlights: Nooksack Valley: Lesley Anker 2-3; Chelsea Pike 1-3, 2 RBI.