For the second time in school history, the Washington High School softball team is headed to the MSHSAA State Championships.
The Lady Jays (30-5) punched their ticket to state with a 6-1 victory over Farmington in a Class 4 quarterfinal contest in Farmington on Thursday, October 21.
Washington softball also reached the state tournament in 2016, placing fourth.
The Lady Jays, winners of 17 consecutive games (school record is 18) and the first team in program history to win 30 games in a single season, have their eyes on a first-place finish this season, and they have the team to do it.
The Class 4 state tournament takes place Thursday and Friday, October 28 and 29, at Killian Softball Complex in Springfield. The Lady Jays will play Platte County (20-9) in a semifinal contest Thursday, October 28, at 2 p.m. Platte County defeated Nevada 10-0 in its quarterfinal game.
The other Class 4 semifinal will be Incarnate Word (17-11) against Rolla (30-8).
The Class 4 third-place game is scheduled for Thursday, October 28, at 6:15 p.m. The Class 4 championship game is Friday, October 29, at 12:45 p.m.
Click here for the MSHSAA Class 4 bracket.
“It feels good to get to state. We just came here today to have fun, no matter what happened, win or lose. We definitely build off each other. If one person gets a hit, we keep building on it,” said Washington sophomore shortstop Christine Gerling. “Going to state is going to be a fun experience. We have to continue to stay focused and work on some things in practice.”
“Excitement is the best way to describe it for sure. We mesh really well together. We have good pitching, we have good hitters, and we play good defense. We have a good team,” said Washington sophomore right fielder Lacy Monzyk. “Everyone is going to be pumped at school and at practice getting ready for state. There will be a lot of energy. We’ll be ready. We want to be first place on that board that will be going up. It’s not going to be easy, but the last two games showed what we can do.”
On the road to state, Washington has rolled over the top two ranked teams in Class 4, No. 1 Rockwood Summit in the district championship 8-4, and No. 2 Farmington in the quarterfinals, 6-1.
“We had a tough road to get to state, but I knew this was a team that could get there. It’s just going to prep us for our two games at state,” said Washington Head Coach Philip King. “I think we have a phenomenal chance at state. If we’re on like we have been the last two games, there’s no reason why we can’t win it. But everyone there will be good, so we have to be ready to play.”
Taylor Brown turned in another dominating performance in the circle against Farmington. She pitched all seven innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits with three walks and 15 strikeouts.
“I’m trusting my mechanics and just going with it,” Brown said. “It’s very exciting. Our offense has been great. We’re doing what we need to do when we need to do it. I’m hopeful that if we continue to play the way we can, we can win it.”
Just like the district championship game, Washington built an early lead against Farmington with two runs in the bottom of the first inning and two more in the third to take a 4-0 advantage. The Lady Jays added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. The Knights (30-7) scored their lone run in the top of the fourth.
Washington collected six hits and five walks in the game. Brown connected for a pair of doubles and had two RBIs. Gerling also had a double with one RBI and one run. Monzyk finished with one hit, two walks and two runs. Myla Inman added one hit and one RBI. Loren Thurmon had one hit and one walk. Emily Bruckerhoff walked and scored. Grace Molitor had an RBI. Maddie Guevara drew a walk. Elizabeth Reed scored two runs. Kelsie Holtmeyer was behind the plate for Washington. Lexi Lewis played first base. Kendall Nix was used as a courtesy runner.
“Taylor and Kelsie were on the same page all night. They looked great as a battery unit,” King said. “Offensively, we did a good job making contact, running the bases, and putting pressure on them. It was a really good team win.”
Photos from Washington’s quarterfinal game at Farmington are below.
VIDEO: FINAL OUT OF WASHINGTON'S QUARTERFINAL VICTORY
