First came the jam, and then came the throw.
Behind a pitching gem by Nikole Weber and the defensive play of the year by center fielder Erin Crowley, Kentlake hung on to beat Puyallup 3-1 for the South Puget Sound League title on Friday evening at Service Club Ballfields in Kent.
Kentlake (21-1) was clinging to a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Puyallup (18-4) loaded the bases with no outs. Puyallup’s Kaele Ingram followed with a shot to mid-center field, a fly ball that appeared to be a certain sacrifice fly if not more.
Instead, the lanky left-handed Crowley positioned herself perfectly behind the long fly ball, made the catch for the first out, and then delivered a missile to catcher Brittany Styger. Styger made the grab, and then lunged slightly to her left to tag out Puyallup’s Amber Tomlinson.
The play doused a potentially big Puyallup rally and essentially iced the game – and the league title – for the Falcons.
“A lot of people don’t like to run on me,” admitted Crowley, who was just as effective with the bat, going 3-for-4 with a triple and a run scored. “Getting behind it … we practice that every single day. (Throwing her out) is an amazing feeling.”
After seeing the ball leave the bat, Weber anticipated the outcome at the plate.
“(Erin) always has every single catch, every single throw perfectly,” said Weber. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she was going to catch it, but that throw was just the cherry on top.”
Weber, a senior right-hander, went the distance in the circle, striking out a pair and walking three. In addition, Weber was backed by rock-solid defense around the diamond, particularly from shortstop Erika Smyth.
With the win, Kentlake takes the SPSL’s top seed to the West Central District tournament, which is slated for May 21-22 at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway. The top seven teams from the 16-team field advanced to the state tournament, which will be held the following weekend at South End Recreation Area (SERA) in Tacoma.
Kentridge (17-7) and Kentwood (10-12) also will be advancing to the district tournament. The Conquerors will be taking the eighth seed to the district tournament while the Chargers will advance as the sixth seed.
The No. 1 seed, however, belongs to the Falcons, which is a pretty nice feeling Weber noted, especially after sharing the regular-season division title with Tahoma.
“It’s nice to win the title on our own instead of being co-champions,” Weber said. “We are SPSL champions.”
And with that came Kentlake’s 16th win in a row.
The Falcons got off to a quick start, plating a pair of first-inning runs, one on an RBI single from Kellie Nielsen, and the other on a Puyallup error. Puyallup cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third, getting to Weber for a pair of hits, but little else in the inning.
Crowley gave Kentlake the insurance it needed in the fourth, lashing a one-hop shot off the left-center wall. The speedy Crowley pulled into third base, noticed the Puyallup outfielder bobbling the ball, and bolted for home to score the Falcons final run.
“She’s a difference maker,” said Kentlake coach Greg Kaas of Crowley.
Of course, Crowley would not have had the opportunity to make the throw or provide the big hit against Puyallup had the Falcons not rallied to beat Rogers 8-7 in the semifinal game. Trailing the Rams 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kentlake’s Jessie Richardson led off the inning with a hard, one-hop smash off the chest of Rogers’ ace Bobbi-Jo Schaapveld. After gathering herself, Schaapveld picked up the ball, and then sent it down the right-field line, allowing Richardson to move to second base. Kentlake freshman Libby Riehl followed with an RBI single to left-center, tying the game 7-7. Riehl moved to second base on the throw home. Moments later, Nielsen drove home pinch runner Ashlee Buch with the game-winning single.
“This is just a really resilient group,” Kaas said.
