Area Fastpitch back for Another Year of Domination

Last Spring just like baseball, District 4 fastpitch dominated the bracket with three out of the top four finishers. It was Montesano that defeated Castle Rock 3-0 in the final. Montesano had to climb over La Center in the semi-finals and Onalaska had a first round win.

Onalaska's Amber Durand slaps at a pitch during last spring's District playoffs.

In fast pitch, most coaches will tell you it is all about pitching and the Lady Bulldogs have it. They bring back to pitchers from last years team. Mikayla Shumate and Devyn Baker that were 1st team all Evergreen. La Center returns Natasha Moore as well as Trico League first-teamers Mariah Dawson and Brooke Gaston.

Castle Rock has to be considered a favorite with the number of returning players. While they graduated Samantha Watkins, they return all but two of their all-district players from a team that went to the state championship.

Onalaska has big shoes to fill on the mound with the departure of Kaylie Stanley, but remember the plethora of athletes available to make the Loggers competitive. Kalie Ritchey, Amber Durand, and Sophomore Hailey Givens all return with Givens probably laying claim to a specific role rather than a utility position this season.

Toledo's Alyssa Gallow brings sure solid pitching to her team.

Toledo will bring back Hillary Roeder, Jolaina Crawford and Evergreen League 2nd team pitcher Alyssa Gallow for her senior year

La Center Ends Rockets Season

La Center's Lauren Baker and Marissa Moore have Castle Rock's Kelsey Bishop in a double team late in the 4th quarter.

It took a major come back in the 4th quarter, but La Center came out on top in yet another rematch between the Wildcats and Castle Rock in the SWWA 1A Tournament on Saturday night. The Lady Rockets jumped out to as much as an 8 point lead in the 3rd, but La Center fought back in the 4th quarter for a 54-50 victory.

The Wildcats had three players, Katrina Chamberlain (20), Marissa Moore (13) and Lauren Baker (11) in double figures. Baker made 4-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Castle Rock’s Kelsey Bishop (#23) handles the ball while Lauren Baker covers.

Lacey Seidl scored 12 points for the Rockets while Kayleigh Klingberg added 10.

Castle Rock ended their season at 12-7.

La Center will face Ilwaco on February 26th for a shot at the WIAA State Tournament.

Wildcats Out Run Lady Rockets

When you are small, being fast gives an extra advantage and La Center ran by the Lady Rockets of Castle Rock, 51-35 in Girls 1A Trico League action on Tuesday night.

Look for more early tomorrow...




LA CENTER-Lacey Dykgraaf 0, Sydney Wise 2, Emily Vis 0, Annie Baker 0, Katrina Chambertain 7, Kiley Monson 1, Hannah Trigg 11, Araceli Santos 0, Marissa Moore 14, Hannah Hendrickson 0, Lauren Baker 16
CASTLE ROCK-Samantha Moore 0, Kayleigh Klingberg 6, Bailey Mitchell 0, Chelsea Mitchell 2, Lacey Seidl 13, Kelsey Bishop 6, Megan Moore 0, Ashley Moore 0, Maddi Klingberg 0, Shelby Wason 0, Taylor Swanson 8.

LA CENTER 8 18 13 12-51
CASTLE ROCK 6 7 12 10-35

Big Games Tonight

I made a last minute choice. Instead of heading up to Rainier to see the Loggers and Mountaineers mix it up for the second time in four days (this time I assume Rainier will have Jacob Fox), and if your are in that area, don't pass up the opportunity! I am going to head to Castle Rock to see La Center against Lacey Seidl and the Lady Rockets.

You see, the Trico League van is humming along with Ilwaco as the driver but Castle Rock and La Center trying to act of the co-pilot. One of them is not belted in. Hopefully, we will see a healthy Lauren Baker against a healthy Seidl in a great Trico League game.


1A TRICO League
W L
Ilwaco (9-5) 4 0
La Center (9-4) 3 1
Castle Rock (7-3) 3 1
White Salmon (7-5) 1 2
Stevenson (3-8) 0 3
Kalama (0-11) 0 4

Ilwaco Take Firm Grip on the Trico Girls

1A TRICO League
W L
Ilwaco (8-5) 4 0
La Center (9-4) 3 1
Castle Rock (7-3) 3 1
White Salmon (7-5) 1 2
Stevenson (3-8) 0 3
Kalama (0-11) 0 4


The Ilwaco girls did what few thought they could do. They beat Castle Rock a week ago and held Lacey Seidl to just 11 points. Last night, the went to La Center and held Laurn Baker to just 4 points. In the meantime, Ilwaco's Vallori Crowston had 14points, 8 steels, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Ilwaco was behind 37-34 at the start of the 4th quarter.


ILWACO 50, LA CENTER 43
ILWACO — Carley Kitzman 6, Aimee Banuet 5, Elleigh Kaino 0, Cameo Ulbricht 2, Vallori Crowston 14, Alexa Wirkkala 6, Erin Kelly 0, Marin McDonnell 1, Kenzi Wirkkala 5, Ashley Tapio 8, Kibby 0. Totals 18 12-29 50.
LA CENTER — Annie Baker 0, Lauren Baker 4, Katrina Chamberlain 11, Lacey Dykgraaf 0, Hannah Hendrickson 0, Kiley Monson 4, Marissa Moore 13, Araceli Santos 0, Hannah Trigg 5, Emily Vis 0, Sydney Wise 6. Totals 15 10-24 43.
Ilwaco 6 18 10 16—50
La Center 7 15 15 6—43
JV — Ilwaco 50-33.

A Mid-Season Look at the District IV 1A and 2B Favorites

Now that we are beginning the league Season, some stories are starting to write themselves. One of my favorites (Napavine Boys) has an uphill climb while two others are standing tall. The excitement is just beginning so put on your seat belts and get read for a wild ride in the various District IV leagues.

Follow these links for discussion about the Evergreen Boys 1A and the Trico 1A. Castle Rock had a key victory over Ridgefield to confuse the discussion, but the return of Kalama’s Brandon Walker still gives the Chinooks the advantage.

Central 2B Boys

Napavine is smarting from two losses this week that shows the depth of the Central 2B Boys. Mossyrock applied a box and one defense to essentially deny Napavine’s Blake Anthony the ball. It worked and Mossyrock ran away with the home victory. On Saturday night, Toutle Lake’s starless team had too many weapons for the Tigers to overcome. With Mossyrock’s 47-44 home victory over Toutle Lake in their pocket, the 2B Central is theirs to lose. The caveat of course is that they must visit both Toutle Lake and Napavine later in the season. Great for my upcoming calendar!

Pacific 2B Boys

Naselle took the first big opportunity and cashed it in with a 60-57 victory over South Bend last week. They are unbeaten in conference and their lone loss comes to a larger (756 student, a 2A Washington equivalent) Astoria, Oregon school. South Bend will host Naselle again on February 3rd. Their only other loss was to thus far undefeated 1A Onalaska.

Central 2B Girls

The Napavine girls made a big statement this week by defeating Mossyrock at the Lady Viking’s gym. Those two teams look like the class of the Central 2B with Wahkiakum and Adna lurking in the distance. Mossyrock will travel to Adna this week, but mark February 9th on you calendar if you like high quality girls basketball as the Vikings visit Napavine.

Remember that Mossyrock and Napavine both fit well in with the areas best 1A schools in the area. Both Mossyrock and Napavine already have victories over Onalaska.

Pacific 2B Girls

To be honest, the Girls on the coast are going to have a tough time matching up with the big four of the Central . Raymond has played the toughest schedule of all, sampling the best basketball teams of the area. They lost to both Onalaska and Toledo, but defeated a tough Rainier team at the Napavine 1A/2B Challenge and Northwest Christian. Northwest Christian of Lacey is 7-2 and has been less than dominant. They split with Pe Ell in a home and home series and defeated South Bend. Of course one of their two losses was to Raymond. North Beach looks like a distant third in this division.

Evergreen 1A Girls

The Evergreen 1A girls heart is in Toledo. The Lady Indians put themselves in the driver’s seat with a big win over Winlock in late December and then a hard fought win over Rainier last week. In this league, it is never easy, but Toledo is making it look that way. In second is Onalaska which faces Toledo on January 20th. The Lady Loggers have two non-league losses to neighboring Napavine and Mossyrock from the 2B Central. They took care of Winlock this week, but Montesano, Rainier and Forks are all solid opponents in a very competitive league.

Trico 1A Girls

La Center appears to be the class of the Trico with big wins over 2A Washougal and large margins of victory most of the time. The Lady Rocket of Castle Rock has a similar resume with wins of Rochester and Knappa of Oregon. La Center and Castle Rock will meet for the first time on January 27th. Ilwaco’s One loss to impressive 2B Raymond also makes them look like a contender. Ilwaco will visit Castle Rock this Friday to clear up that picture a little.