Things fell apart for the Kentlake High fastpitch team a year ago.
This spring, they’ve come together.
Kentlake (15-1 in league, 18-1 overall) entered play on Wednesday back in its customary position, atop the South Puget Sound League North Division standings (tied with Tahoma) and staring at another potential league crown. It’s a strong move for the Falcons, who finished fourth last season after winning four-straight SPSL North
The difference this year?
“This year, there aren’t just four people leading the way,” said center fielder Erin Crowley. “I think one through nine hitting wise we are a lot stronger. Last year, things just fell apart. This year, we didn’t come in as the top team. We are just playing how we play.”
And how they play has been just about golden thus far.
In fact, the only blip on the Falcons’ radar this spring has been a 5-2 loss to surging Tahoma on March 24. Kentlake hasn’t lost since, collecting 15 consecutive wins entering the week. The most pivotal — and meaningful — of those wins?
A 15-5 drubbing of Tahoma on April 24 in the rematch between the two teams at the top of the North.
The game proved to be the perfect storm for the Falcons, who received a little bit of something from everyone on the roster. Crowley collected three hits, two runs and two RBIs. Alexis Engman added two hits, two runs and four RBIs. Hannah Sauget joined in, ripping a pair of hits and scoring three more runs while Erika Smyth chipped in two hits and an RBI.
While the game was a microcosm of Kentlake’s season, it also showed the team’s depth and versatility.
“Offensively, we don’t have the big bangers that we had in the past,” said Kentlake coach Greg Kaas. “But we have kids top, middle, and at the end of the order who put pressure on the defense.”
Interestingly, the Falcons have come together a year after graduating nine seniors. In a situation when most programs rebuild, the Falcons have simply reloaded. And, in doing so, are on the cusp of winning their fifth league title in six years.
“We need to get through to the end of the league, but the ultimate goal is state,” Crowley said. “We want to get to state so we can prove to everyone that we don’t need all the big names to be successful.”
Of course, the Falcons may already have proven that.
NOT YOUR ORDINARY FRESHMAN
The future is bright for the Kentwood High fastpitch team.
But so is the present. Especially at the catching position, an area that could have been a weakness for the Conquerors this spring after graduating Katy Adams and Alex Lucas, who alternated behind the plate last spring.
Instead of weakness, the Conquerors have found strength. Tremendous strength at that as freshman Allison Newcomb has entrenched herself behind the Kentwood dish. However, as good as her defense has been, Newcomb’s bat has been doing most of the talking. The Kentwood freshman entered the week tied for the most home runs in the SPSL North with three.
“There have been times when she has almost killed me with line drives down the third-base line,” said Kentwood coach Jason Wisor. “She just has a really fast bat, great hands and has a lot of pop. She has really stepped up.”
Newcomb, who also played varsity basketball this past winter, could find herself in some pretty impressive territory by season’s end. The last freshmen to lead the North in home runs are Kentlake’s Felecia Harris and Auburn Riverside’s Amanda Fitzsimmons, both of whom are now playing at the University of Washington.
RISING TO THE TOP TOGETHER
A year ago Tahoma was scrapping for the fifth and final playoff spot, scratching to get to 8-8 in South Puget Sound League play, only to be disappointed with an early exit in the West Central District tournament.
This year Tahoma has battled with Kentlake for the top spot in the North Division, losing just twice all season — a non-leage defeat at the hands of Skyline and its only league loss to Kentlake — and looking like its going to make a deep playoff run for the first time in its history.
Early in the season, senior captain Katie Jo Myers told the Reporter that the key to the team’s success would be unity.
After beating Thomas Jefferson 10-8 on May 4 to wrap up the regular season, Myers said playing as a unified group has made the difference this season.
“We’re one team,” she said. “I think we’re even closer than when we started. We’re going to lay it all on the line for one another.”
With the regular season behind them and a 15-1 league record to go along with an 18-2 overall record, Tahoma is a far cry from where it was in 2009, and Myers said they’ll do everything they can to get ready for the playoffs.
“We’re going to state,” she said. “We’re going to step up our practices. We’re going to work on everything we need to work on. We’re going to go at it and give it everything we’ve got.”
