by Eric Francis
Stanwood players Tori Kriegel (center) celebrates with a teammate after she and Sam Bingham (left) scored during the eighth inning of Friday’s state tournament game.
TACOMA — The Stanwood softball team eventually solved one top flight pitcher, but two proved to be too big a task.
The Spartans knocked off top-ranked Rogers of Puyallup 4-1 in extra innings in their opening round game Friday at the Class 4A State Tournament, but Jenna DeRosier and Kelso proved to be too much in the quarterfinals, beating Stanwood 3-0.
The Spartans rebounded to keep their season alive with a 5-1 victory over Thomas Jefferson. Stanwood will play today at 11 a.m. in the third round of consolation play.
DeRosier gave the Spartans fits at the plate, tossing a five hitter and striking out 10. Lyndsay Burrows had two of Stanwood’s five hits. The Spartans never got a runner to third base.
Brittany Jeans also threw a five-hitter, but the Hilanders bunched three together with one out in the third inning to add on a pair of runs. An infield hit, sacrifice bunt and two wild pitches accounted for Kelso’s first run.
Jeans would settle down from there, retiring 11 of the final 12 batters she faced. She struck out four after fanning 14 in eight innings against Rogers earlier in the day.
Rogers took a 1-0 lead in the fourth and, with the Spartans having done little to that point against highly regarded Rams hurler Bobbi-Jo Schaapveld, Stanwood appeared to be in trouble.
Freshman Shawna Hochstetler led off the sixth with an infield hit, stole second and scored on an error to tie the score.
In the eighth, the Spartans finally got to Schaapveld. Sam Bingham singled in Jordan Nemo, who’d been hit by a pitch, with the go-ahead run and Corinne Stillman added a two-run single up the middle for insurance.
Jeans was every bit Schaapveld’s match twirling a five-hitter to go with the 14 strikeouts.
• Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at
