Federal Way National/Steel Lake softball all-stars fall in championship
Published 2:01 pm Friday, July 17, 2015
The Federal Way National/Steel Lake majors softball all-star team’s run through the state tournament came to an end Friday after battling their way to the championship following an early defeat.
The girls advanced to the state tournament by winning the District 10 championship over Auburn on June 24.
They lost a tightly contested game to Battle Ground Little League’s all-stars in the first round of the state tournament. The game went into extra innings and Battle Ground scored the winning runs in the eighth.
With the loss, the Federal Way National/Steel Lake team needed to win four consecutive games to have a chance at the championship.
They won the next two games over the Bellevue and Columbia (Vancouver) Little League teams by a combined score of 40-9. The mercy rule was used in both games.
A rematch with Battle Ground was next up for the girls and they were able to avenge their loss in the first round with an 8-2 win. The win put them into the semi-finals against Gig Harbor Little League’s all-star team.
Gig Harbor won their first two games of the tournament by a combined score of 28-4 before being defeated 10-0 by South Snohomish Little League’s all-stars. Federal Way National/Steel Lake was able to put them away in a 14-1 rout, earning them a spot in the championship.
The winner of the championship game earned a spot in the Western Regional, which starts July 24 in San Bernardino, California.
South Snohomish, the defending state champions, were undefeated going into the game. They won the District 1 championship by outscoring their three opponents 28-0. They won their first three games in the state tournament via mercy rule as they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 45-2.
Despite their fantastic run in the tournament, Federal Way National/Steel Lake were unable to overcome South Snohomish as they fell 10-0 in five innings.
Christine Lee managed the team’s only hit in the top of the third inning. South Snohomish’s Makayla Miller struck out seven batters.
Federal Way National will have another chance to place highly in a state tournament when the 9/10 baseball all-stars begin state tournament play on Saturday, July 18 against Aberdeen Little League in Montesano.
