The Kentlake High fastpitch team had its back against the wall Friday afternoon at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway.
Righthanded pitcher Nikole Weber then delivered the gem the Falcons needed most. Weber struck out 11, scattered just five hits and walked one, leading the Falcons past Beamer 7-1 in a loser-out game at the Class 4A West Central District tournament.
“I really wanted to win that game because we wanted to keep going,” said Weber, a junior. “It could have been the last game for our seniors, so I just kept pushing the whole time.”
The Falcons were in critical need of that extra push, too. Kentlake opened the tournament with a 4-1 loss to South Puget Sound League South Division power Rogers. One more loss would have ended the season for the Falcons (13-7).
Instead, everything that went wrong in the opening loss was turned around in the mid-afternoon win.
“The thing we really did (against Beamer) is we executed,” said Kentlake coach Greg Kaas. “We played small ball, we bunted, had two squeezes. We put ourselves in a position to be successful.”
As for Weber …
“Nikole was totally poised and her leadership was great,” Kaas said.
Kentlake will play Stadium at 10 a.m. on Saturday (May 23) in a loser-out game. The Falcons need to win two games on Saturday to advance to the state tournament.
The Falcons are trying to advance to the state tournament for a sixth-straight year.
Kentlake gave Weber all the runs she would need with a two-run first inning. Brooke Evans singled home Jessie Richardson for the first run. Erika Smyth brought home Julianne Hartnett moments later on a bunt, giving Kentlake an instant 2-0 lead.
Weber then went into lockdown mode.
Beamer didn’t even sniff the plate through the first five innings, allowing the Falcons to build a 7-0 lead.
In the sixth, Beamer managed one run on a pair of bloop hits, but nothing else.
“I feel more confident lately,” said Weber, who went the distance in both games for the Falcons. “I feel like I have been throwing harder.”
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