Cascade fastpitch softball team are league champs

The last time the Cascade Kodiak fastpitch softball team won the Caribou Trail League was 2013, what turned out to be the end of dominant era of Kodiak softball. Back then, the current Kodiaks were young girls admiring those Cascade teams, dreaming of the day they would be winning league and district titles. 

It took four years, but once again, the Kodiaks are tops in the CTL. With a sweep of Cashmere last Saturday, the girls secured their first league title since 2013. 

“It feels pretty good. We’ve been working hard all season and the girls have been playing well. It’s great to prove we were the better team. They were the one team to beat us in league, on a walk off home run in the seventh inning by Haley Van Lith,” said Cascade Head Coach Ken Krous. “I felt like we did a really good job on their one, two, three hitters. We controlled them a little bit. I think that made a big difference in the ball game. We just relaxed, knowing we got this thing.”

Krous’ first year as head coach was 2013, with group of talented seniors.  

“We’ve been building and building, gradually getting better. Last year, we were playing as good as anybody at the end of the year. We lost in the last inning to Omak in districts. I felt like that was the springboard for this year,” Krous said. 

One of the big differences this year, he said, was some of the kids figured out the hitting, feeling more confident at the plate. 

“Our pitching has been rock solid all year. Last year, Sarah Paulson had her share of strikeouts, but she was more of a contact pitcher,” Krous said. “This year, she has been dominant in that circle. That has helped a ton. We have speed at a lot of different spots in our lineup so we can do a lot of different things, bunting, stealing, hit and run. They run ball down. In the past, we didn’t have that great speed, so those balls dropped. Now, we have kids that can run those balls down. It’s pretty nice.”

Krous said they girls are pretty stoked, maybe not realizing their accomplishment. 

“They are 9-1 in league with two to play, 16-2 on the season. They’ve deserved every bit of it. They’ve worked hard and come out every day and work. They don’t play to anyone else, they just play to our standard,” Krous said. “As long we play to our standard, I think we can compete with anybody.”

Cascade finishes the regular season next Tuesday, May 9, hosting Omak for a double header.  

Last Saturday, Cascade played a double header against Cashmere, the only team to beat them in league. In the first game, Sarah Paulson matched up against Cashmere ace Sydney Mongeon. 

It was scoreless the first two innings before the Kodiaks scored three runs in the third. Paulson and Kaija Lovelady had base hits. Truh Merriman had a hard shot, that was booted, loading the bases for Cascade’s top hitter, Sarah Pickel. Pickel came through with a 2 RBI single. 

The Kodiaks made it a 4-0 game in the fourth on two singles and two sacrifice bunts. Olvia Stoddard led off with singles, taking second on an error. Madeline Schiefelbein sacrificed her to third, then Whitney Wilkes had another sac bunt. Stoddard made an excellent head first slide home. 

Cashmere scored their only run in the top of the sixth on a single and fielder’s choice. 

“Meanwhile Paulson was cruising in the circle going the distance for the win. Paulson gave up on run on four hits, eight strikeouts and two walks. Super win for the Kodiaks,” Krous said. 

Pickel injured her hamstring in the game, and was forced off the field, but she still hit. She was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Merriman did a stellar job spelling Pickel at short. Paulson was 2-for-3. 

Paulson pitched 7 innings, giving 1 earned run on 4 hits with 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. Mongeon pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 9 hits with 7 strikeouts and 1 walk. 

In the second game, with Merriman in the circle, the Kodiaks rolled to five inning, 11-0 win. Lovelady was 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. Analia Vasquez was 3-for-3 with a double and 3 RBIs. Stoddard was 2-for-2 with a run and 2 RBIs. 

Merriman pitched 5 innings, giving up no runs, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts and 1 walk. Mongeon pitched 4 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 10 hits with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk. 

“We had a couple different people playing shortstop for us. Sarah pulled that hamstring again. Luckily we don’t play for a week-and-a-half so she can be ready to go. Defensively, we played really well. A couple miscues, but for the most part, we were pretty solid,” Krous said.  

Cascade won a nail biter at home against Okanogan on April 25. Okanogan led off the game with a home run. It remained a 1-0 until the fourth inning when Cascade’s Sarah Pickel got a hit off Vivienne Bauer. 

The Kodiaks were trailing 1-0 in the sixth before rallying. Lovelady walked, then moved to second on a Merriman groundout. Pickel came through with an RBI single to tie the game 1-1. Vasquez doubled to put runner and second and third with one out. 

Sierra Bittle hit a sacrifice fly to scored Pickel as Vasquez moved to third. Bauer balked, which allowed Vasquez to score, to make a 3-1 game. Paulson shut down the Bulldogs in the seventh to preserve the win. 

“The Lady Kodiaks continue to come through in the clutch. Having close games like these are good for them to battle through. Another solid win for the Kodiaks,” Krous said. 

Paulson pitched 7 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 4 hits, with 4 strikeouts and no walks. Bauer pitched 6 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits with 2 strikeouts and 4 walks. 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.