Fastpitch: Two-Out Damage Lifts Bearcats to Shutout Win Over Tumwater

4/22/2024

WF West 8, Tumwater 0

(Chehalis, WA) The top two teams in the Evergreen 2A fastpitch standings met on Monday night for the second time in four days as the Tumwater Thunderbirds flew south to Chehalis to take on the WF West Bearcats. Tumwater took each of the first two meetings by just a run with 2-1 and 7-6 victories. With both teams throwing their aces after giving them the day off from pitching in the game on Friday, there was a big game feel at Rec Park when the two rivals took the field.

Both sides recorded a couple of early base hits with Tumwater’s Erika Schock and Ella Ferguson both hitting singles while WF West’s Avalon Myers and Staysha Fluetsch both singled in the 1st as well. However, Ferguson pitched out of all trouble in the circle for Tumwater and freshman Taylor Tobin also avoided giving up any runs either.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Tobin tried to help herself out with a leadoff single. After Ferguson retired the next two batters, Avalon Myers proved to be pesky once again with a single to put two runners on with two outs for Staysha Fluetsch. Both runners moved up after a wild pitch, but it did not matter where they were. Fluetsch drove a fastball to deep left field that just kept carrying and cleared the fence for a three-run home run. WF West had finally broken through and taken a 3-0 lead.

A couple of fly outs helped WF West get right back to the plate in the bottom of the 4th, but Ella Ferguson retired the first two batters she faced in the inning. With the bases empty and two down, the Bearcats made their move. It started with a single by Kenley Fragner and continued after an error allowed Taylor Tobin to reach. Lena Fragner then walked to load the bases for Addie Froschauer. The Bearcat second baseman didn’t have to swing the bat to score runs as back-to-back wild pitches added two for WF West and made it 5-0.

Froschauer would walk to put runners on the corners and once again Avalon Myers delivered. Myers singled again to score another run and made it 6-0. Staysha Fluetsch followed with a base hit to score a run and then moved up to second and drew a throw that went into center field. Another Bearcat run scored on an error and six consecutive Bearcats reached as WF West blew it open and took an 8-0 lead.

An opportunity to get a mercy rule win was snuffed out as Tumwater’s Marissa Lapraim made a nice catch at third on a line drive with the bases loaded for WF West. However, the T-Birds just couldn’t get anything going against Taylor Tobin. After striking out just one batter in the first couple of innings, Tobin ended up punching out seven for the game, including striking out the final batter of the game to leave a runner stranded at third and preserved the shutout. The Bearcats celebrated the 8-0 victory as they also moved into a tie atop the EvCo 2A league standings with their win over Tumwater.

WF West now sits at 11-4 and 6-1 in league play while Tumwater is 11-3 and 6-1 in league play. The T-Birds currently hold the tiebreaker over WF West for the EvCo’s #1 seed in the District Tournament, leaving a lot to be played for in the final few weeks of the season. Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday as WF West travels to take on Centralia at 4pm while Tumwater returns home to host Shelton at 4:30pm.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game was Staysha Fluetsch for WF West. The Bearcat first baseman had a strong day defensively, but then set herself apart from everyone else with a 4-4 day at the plate with a home run and four RBI plus a run scored. Fluetsch was aggressive at the plate and saw a total of eight pitches in her four at-bats combined. The three-run shot was the big moment in the game but it was still just the start of Fluetsch’s monster day.