After a week filled with rainouts across Southwest Washington, the sun finally broke through just long enough for the Woodland softball team to get hot. The Beavers delivered one of their most complete performances of the season Thursday, defeating R.A. Long 13-3 as they continue to trend upward in the 2A Greater St. Helens League standings.
In a highly anticipated league matchup with the Lumberjills that stayed close until the very end, Woodland used a late offensive surge to pull away. A seven spot in the sixth inning pushed the game into mercy rule territory and gave the hosts the emphatic victory they’d been searching for.
“We were more aggressive at the plate today,” Woodland head coach Tom Christensen said. “We talked about being ready for every pitch, more of a ‘Yes, yes, yes approach,’ and it showed.”
Meanwhile, the Jills suffered their fourth consecutive loss as they gear up for Friday’s home date with their crosstown rivals for the Civil War. It was a tough result for an R.A. Long side that showed signs of progress but couldn’t match Woodland’s late surge.
“I’m proud of us,” R.A. Long head coach Jim Van Fleet said. “We battled back and showed a lot more fight than we have. It might look like a blowout, but it wasn’t for most of the game.”
After a scoreless opening inning, Woodland was able to break the seal in the second frame. The Beavers managed to push across three runs with a mix of small ball and timely hitting to take the early lead. A bunt play turned into a defensive scramble that allowed the first run to score, and Woodland kept things moving from there. Jolie Oathes followed with a bunt single, and Madison Walker delivered a run-scoring hit as the Beavers built the early advantage.
Woodland added on again in the third with a persistent approach. After traffic built on the bases via a walk and an error, Lillia Andrews executed a sacrifice bunt that brought home Lexi Manalili’s courtesy runner. Moments later, Alabama Hawes came around to score on a wild pitch as Woodland stretched the lead to 5-0.
Addi Christensen controlled the tempo in the circle for the Beavers through the early innings, working ahead in counts and limiting hard contact while keeping the guests from building any momentum.
R.A. Long responded in the fifth inning with its strongest stretch of the game.
Kace Prindle led off with a deep double to center, and Audrina Solano followed with a triple down the left-field line that rolled to the wall, bringing in a run and energizing the Lumberjills.
Zowie Ramirez added an RBI single, and Vivian Most followed with a base hit to keep the rally alive as R.A. Long continued to move runners across and cut the deficit to 5-3.
“I thought that was big for us,” Van Fleet said. “We needed that kind of energy and we got it.”
But any momentum quickly disappeared in the bottom half of the sixth.
Woodland broke the game open in decisive fashion, erupting for seven runs behind a flurry of hard contact and timely hitting. Christensen jumpstarted the rally with a double off the top of the left-center wall, Emma Barrow followed with an RBI single, and Manalili added another hit to keep things moving. Hawes delivered a run-scoring hit, Andrews came through again with an RBI knock, and Oathes punctuated the inning with a three-run home run to left field.
The Beavers stacked hits, forced mistakes, and never allowed R.A. Long a chance to recover.
“Once we got rolling, it felt like everything was clicking,” Oathes said.
Oathes, who finished with three hits — including a home run — and four RBIs, credited her teammates for helping her find success at the plate.
“I was seeing a lot of inside with good spin, but my teammates were talking to me after their at-bats and helping me know what to expect,” Oathes said. “Once I got that third at-bat hit, everything started to feel really good.”
From there it was all muscle memory.
“I stick to my approach,” Oathes added. “I just swing at whatever’s close.”
Woodland finished with a dozen hits, applying steady pressure throughout the lineup and finding production up and down the order.
Walker went 2 for 5 with two RBIs, Christensen added two hits, including the off-the-wall double, and Andrews drove in three runs while reaching base multiple times via two hits and a walk. Hawes scored four runs.
In the circle, Christensen earned the win, allowing five hits and three runs over six innings while striking out four.
“This was exactly what we needed,” Christensen said. “We’ve been close, now we’re starting to put it together.”
For R.A. Long, Solano led the way for the offense with a triple and an RBI, while Ramirez added a run-scoring single. Most, Edie Korpi, and Prindle all chipped in with hits as part of the Lumberjills’ five-hit effort.
Korpi took the loss in the circle, allowing 13 runs (10 earned) on 12 hits across 5 2/3 innings. She also struck out nine batters.
“We’re getting better,” Van Fleet said. “We just need to put together a full game. If we do that, we’re right there.”
