Lady Braves power way back to State tourney

It was La Conner High’s battery that jump-started the Lady Braves back on the road to the State 2B Softball Tournament.

Batterymates Olivia Hedlund and Emma Christianson helped fuel a well-oiled La Conner machine that hit on all cylinders in twin Bi-District triumphs over NW2B rivals Concrete and Darrington in Stanwood on Thursday.

Hedlund tossed successive three hitters in blanking Concrete 16-0 and taming the Lady Loggers 11-1, each game shortened by the 10-run mercy rule.

Christianson not only was on the receiving end of Hedlund’s tosses, but the La Conner catcher also supported the sophomore hurler by blasting three homers in Thursday’s opener.

Christianson blasted solo round-trippers in the second and fourth frames, and drove a three-run shot over the leftfield fence in the third.

With the wins, La Conner won the Bi-District crown and improved to 19-3 overall.

The Lady Braves next face Morton-White Pass in State tourney action this Friday at 9 a.m. in Yakima.

While Morton-White Pass, a Final Four club a year ago, definitely has La Conner’s attention, the Lady Braves are taking time to savor their Bi-District title.

“It was a great team effort,” noted La Conner mentor Peg Seeling, recently voted NW2B Coach of the Year.

Seeling started by praising Hedlund’s work in the circle and Christianson’s power at the plate.

Hedlund fanned six Concrete hitters and whiffed a pair of Lady Loggers.

In addition to her three homers against the Lady Lions, Christianson delivered a key RBI double in the Darrington game.

Seeling cited La Conner’s glove work, as well. She pointed to a diving catch made by first baseman Lauren Reynolds with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning, a point in the contest which saw the Lady Braves clinging to a tenuous 1-0 lead.

Hedlund then induced an inning-ending groundout, and in the next stanza La Conner erupted for six markers to break the game open.

Big innings were a key for the Lady Braves all day long.

They scored five times in the first inning of the game with Concrete.

Elizabeth Tripp led off with a double to centerfield, and Ashley Watkins followed with a single to left.

Tripp plated on a wild pitch, and Watkins dashed home on Hedlund’s sharp grounder.

The lead stretched to 3-0 when Reynolds drove in Watkins with a sacrifice fly.

Two more La Conner runs resulted when Lexi Nelson’s smash up the middle was misplayed.

Christianson gave the Lady Braves a 6-0 cushion when she hit a homer to right-center leading off the second.

Her three-run circuit clout highlighted a seven-run La Conner outburst in the third inning. The Lady Braves also benefitted from a single and double by Tripp — as the team batted around — and a safety from Watkins, along with five costly Concrete miscues.

Christianson’s third home run, drilled deep to left, extended the La Conner lead to 14-0 with none out in the fourth.

The Lady Braves scored twice more, again aided by Concrete errors, plus singles by Nakiya Edwards and Briana Porter.

Nelson ignited La Conner’s decisive six-run explosion in the third inning of the nightcap, legging out an infield single before yielding to pinch-runner Madi Cavanaugh.

Cavanaugh came around moments later on Tripp’s run-scoring double. Watkins then picked up Tripp with a ribbie single, advancing to third, thanks to a tardy throw to the plate.

Christianson drove in Watkins with a double, eventually scoring on Hedlund’s drive to center.

The La Conner lead swelled to 7-0 on singles by Reynolds and Edwards and a double by Nelson, as the Lady Braves again batted around the lineup.

La Conner scored three more times in the fifth, taking advantage of a hit batsman, two Concrete errors, and singles by Edwards and Tripp.

Hedlund’s RBI double with none out in the sixth brought the game to a merciful close.

Having given up an unearned run in the fourth, Hedlund retired six of the final seven hitters she faced, sitting Darrington down in order in the sixth.

Darrington, like La Conner, will be making the trip to Yakima this week.

For the Lady Braves, reaching Yakima isn’t necessarily the final destination. After cruising through Bi-District, they’re geared up to make what hopefully will be a deep run through the State bracket.