RICHLAND — Caitlyn Thompson had an interesting way to describe her grand slam Saturday morning in the Class 1A state softball semifinals.
“I couldn’t feel it when I hit it, but it felt good,” she said.
Whatever it was that she could not feel gave the defending state champions a really good feeling. La Center would go on to top Colville 8-1 and will face Montesano in the championship game at 2:30 p.m. today at Columbia Playfield.
Thompson’s grand slam in the fifth inning pretty much sealed the deal against Colville, giving the Wildcats a 7-1 lead.
“I haven’t been hitting that good this week” she said. “It helped with all the girls supporting me, all of them cheering.”
Her blast to left field had just enough power. The ball hit the top of the fence, bounced high, and landed on the other side.
“Please go over,” Thompson said to herself as she was rounding first base.
Colville took a 1-0 lead in the second inning before La Center’s offense found a spark in the third.
Megan Muffett had a run-scoring single, and then two runs came home on one wild pitch for a 3-1 advantage.
Thompson made it 7-1 in the fifth, and Abby England hit a no-doubt-about-it solo home run in the seventh inning for the final margin.
England struck out 11 in the her win from the pitching circle.
This afternoon’s game for the title is a rematch of last season’s championship game. La Center capped an undefeated season in 2016 with a 9-7 win. Last week, Montesano beat La Center in the district tournament.
LA CENTER 8, COLVILLE 1
La Center 003 040 1—8 8 2
Colville 010 000 0—1 7 4
La Center
Pitcher — Abby England 7 IP, win, 11 Ks, 0 ER. Highlights — Megan Muffett 2-4, RBI; Madisen Stimmel 1-3; Kaylie Faul 1-4; Caitlyn Thompson 1-3, Grand slam, 4 RBI; Sydney Mairose 2-4, 2B; England 1-4, HR, RBI.
