The Doug Lange Network 

May 24, 2018 

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Winning a 2A state championship in softball will be no easy task for the Sehome Mariners and Lynden Lions. The field is stacked as play gets underway Friday in Selah. 

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The top four finishers from last season, W.F. West, Port Angeles, Ellensburg and Selah are all back this year. All four squads are ranked within the top 8 in the state by Maxpreps.com. 

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Sehome (20-12) opens against Fife, While Lynden (17-7) battles the top ranked team in the state in Ellensburg. 

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The Mariners are riding a 13-game win streak that saw them win the Northwest Conference and beat Lakewood for the district title last Friday. Sehome head coach Jim Emerson credits the win streak to balanced play. 

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"Pitching has been really, really good. Savannah Smith has been carrying the load, she's been really good," said Emerson. "And hitting 1-through-9, I think on paper we're as good as anybody as far as that goes." 

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LISTEN: Full interview with Sehome coach Jim Emerson

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Sehome is ranked 4th by MaxPreps, Fife is 9th. 

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Fife is 17-and-5, coming off a 2nd place finish in the South Puget Sound League and a 4th place showing in their district tournament. It's the 7th straight trip to state for the Trojans, who finished second in 2016. 

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Lynden, who advanced as the 4th place team out of the district tournament faces a 20-2 Ellensburg squad. The Bulldogs finished 1st in the Central Washington Athletic Conference and took their district crown.  They are at state for the 12 straight year and coming off their highest finish of 3rd last year.  Their only losses this season have come at the hands of Selah and 3A Kennewick. 

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Lynden is a dangerous squad, despite having the 17-and-7 deceptive overall record.  They finished just a game behind Sehome for 2nd place in the NWC and the Lions split their two games versus the Mariners during the regular season. 

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Head coach Steve Peterson says despite the lack of a flash record his team knows they can play with anyone, when they play well. 

 

"Softball is a game that starts with your pitching, Breanna Swendt is a junior, she's had a really solid year for us," said Peterson. Our two seniors who really help carry us on offense are Megan Paoli and Alexis Fredin and then we've got a bunch of young kids behind them that have filled in and had big games at different points."​

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LISTEN: Full interview with Lynden coach Steve Peterson 

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Both the Mariners and the Lions are in the same half of the bracket. They could see each other in the semifinals if they can survive the day 1 gauntlet at Carlon Park. 

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Schedule - 5/25/18
Sehome vs. Fife 12pm 
Lynden vs. Ellensburg 12pm

Round 2 

Sehome vs. East Valley (Spokane) or North Kitsap 2pm (losers bracket) 4pm (winners bracket) 

Lynden vs. Ridgefield or Olympic 2pm (losers bracket) 4pm (winners bracket)

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- Doug Lange 

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