Kentlake snags district title, state next | FASTPITCH

The Kentlake High fastpitch team was able to cross another goal off of its list Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons, behind several standout performances, throttled Rogers 13-2 for the Class 4A West Central/Southwest District title at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway. With three banners down — North Division, South Puget Sound League and West Central/Southwest District champions — Kentlake now has its eyes on the biggest prize.

“That’s our goal, to get to the championship game on Saturday,” said Kentlake coach Greg Kaas.

First, though, Kentlake went 4-0 at the district tournament.

“As a program, we want to play those games,” Kaas said. “We want to have the opportunity to show what we’re made of.”

The Falcons broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fourth inning against Rogers — one of three teams they shared the district title with last year after the end of the tournament was rained out — when their bats got hot.

Libby Riehl and Brittany Jacobsen were on base after both hitting singles. With two outs, Maddie Brown stepped into the batters box and ripped a double to deep center field, sending in Riehl and Jacobsen.

Lexi Engman followed that up with a two run long ball that pushed the Kentlake lead to 5-1.

From there, that Falcons didn’t look back.

Engman was 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored in the championship game. Erika Smyth was 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a pair of stolen bases and three runs scored. Brittany Styger was 3-for-4 with a double while Riehl was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Kentlake beat Tahoma 6-4 in the semifinal to earn the spot in the championship game.

The Falcons will take the No. 1 seed to the 4A state tournament, which starts Friday in Spokane.

With the win, Kentlake’s fastpitch program can add yet another banner in the gym, with the total for the 15-year-old program reaching 25.

Kaas explained one of the reasons for the Falcons’ success over the years has to do with the tradition the program has developed in which success has become a constant. That creates confidence in the players, he said, and he has a team that is strong from the top to the bottom of the line up, in the circle, the infield and the outfield.

“We don’t just rely on Hannah (Sauget), we don’t just rely on Erin Crowley,” Kaas said. “They have that built-in confidence where they expect to win. They also know that everyone has each other’s back.”

This is Kentlake’s fourth district title in six years.

Kentlake will play Marysville-Pilchuck at 10 a.m. on Friday in the first round of the state tournament.

“All we can really do is worry about ourselves and take care of what we can control,” Kaas said. “If we go out there and play our game, play our style, we play Kentlake fastpitch, we’ll be fine. We’re excited to go on and have the opportunity to play these other great teams.”

For the Falcons, the state tournament is nothing new. This will be Kentlake’s seventh state appearance in the last eight years.

“That’s the goal we’ve been trying to achieve all season,” Smyth said. “Now that we’re there, we know we still have some work to do. We want that No. 1 seed.”

It has been four years since the Falcons brought home a state trophy.

“The hardest game to win is your first game (at state),” Smyth said. “The main thing is to stay confident and basically know that we’re the best. Just expect to win every game.”

• ALSO: Kentwood started off the tournament with an upset of South Kitsap, the top seed out of the Narrows League, winning 11-4 before dropping the second game to Rogers 13-5 and eventually was eliminated in a 5-0 loss to Emerald Ridge. Hannah Feist was 3-for-3 with three runs scored in the victory over South Kitsap while Shian Kelly was 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a triple. In the loss to Rogers, Mackenna Sherman was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a double. The Conquerors graduate five seniors but return nine juniors including pitcher Bethany Pfaff, two sophomores and two freshmen in 2012.