1A Bi-District Tournament:
Elma 15, Mount Baker 10
Montesano 7, Lynden Christian 3
Elma 7, Nooksack Valley 5
Elma 10, Lynden Christian 7
Lynden Christian 13, La Center 3
Elma 15, Mount Baker 10
A double, a homerun and five runs driven in by senior Alyssa DeRoco helped the Mountaineers get out to a 9-2 through four and a half innings, but the Eagles scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth and five more in the bottom of the sixth, and with the season tilting in the balance for Mount Baker, the game was suspended going into the final inning because of darkness on Tuesday night. The game resumed on Wednesday morning with Elma holding a five-run lead and the Mountaineers batting in the top of the seventh. Mount Baker was sat down 1-2-3, and its season came to a close with a 15-10 record.
L: Welters (14-7)
MB: DeRoco 2-4, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, R; Zender 1-2, HR, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB; Welters 1-2, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, SB.
Montesano 7, Lynden Christian 3
A bases-clearing double off the bat of sophomore Roxanne Lenning in the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the only offense that the Lyncs could provide against the Bulldogs in the semifinals of the 1A bi-district tournament. Montesano held a 5-0 lead before Lenning’s hit, and also tacked on two runs in the top of the seventh. Lenning also struck out five batters over three innings in the circle as Lynden Christian was sent to the consolation bracket.
L: Lenning (6-3)
LC: Lenning 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI; Brink 1-3; Terpstra 1-3; S. VanLoo 1-2, R, BB.
Elma 7, Nooksack Valley 5
After eliminating Mount Baker, the Eagles took on the Pioneers in a loser-out contest. Elma struck first with a three-run homerun in the top of the first, and Nooksack Valley answered with a 2-run double by Gracie Rutgers, and that was followed up by a 2-run single off the bat of Grace DeHoog as the Pioneers took the early lead. Another RBI hit from Rutgers came an inning later to give Nooksack Valley a 5-3 lead, but the Eagles scored twice in the top of the third, and twice more in the top of the sixth. The Pioneers also got doubles from Alayna Dykstra and Natalie VanLiew as their season came to a close with a record of 16-10.
L: Bartl (13-7)
NV: Rutgers 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R; Dykstra 1-3, 2B, R, BB; DeHoog 1-4, 2 RBI; Wagter 1-3; VanLiew 2-3, 2B.
Elma 10, Lynden Christian 7
The Eagles continued their run against Whatcom County’s top 1A fastpitch teams, but had trouble scoring early on as Roxanne Lenning struck out 10 batters over the first four innings, and proceed to strike out a few more in the fifth inning, but Elma took advantage of a hit-by-pitch and a walk, and eventually singled in a run to tie the game at 1-1. Kassidy VanSoest entered the game at pitcher, but it was more of the same as another walk and hit-by-pitch led to another base hit and the Eagles took a 4-1 lead. A couple of Elma errors in the bottom of the inning led to a few Lynden Christian runs, and a line-drive single to left field by Taylor Craig drove in two runs to give the Lyncs a 5-4 lead. Another Eagle error in the bottom of the sixth led to a sixth run by Lynden Christian, but Elma tied it back up in the top of the seventh. The Lyncs had a chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh with the winning run on third base, but grounded out for the third out. After neither team scored in the eighth inning, Elma hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth to take a 10-6 lead. Lenning hit a single to score one run, but that would be it as the Lyncs fell.
L: VanSoest (8-5)
LC: Lenning 3-4, RBI, BB; Terpstra 2-3, 2B, 2 R, BB; Craig 1-4, 2 RBI, R; B. VanLoo 1-5, 2B, RBI; S. VanLoo 1-3, R, BB.
Lynden Christian 13, La Center 3
The Lyncs needed to turn things around quickly before darkness crept in, as the final game of the tournament meant the winner would receive the fifth and final berth to state, and the loser would have its season end. Lynden Christian jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, as they hoped to end things quickly. The Wildcats scored in the top of the fifth, but the Lyncs replied with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, which was highlighted by back-to-back homeruns from Roxanne Lenning and Brooke VanLoo. Two batters later, it was Hannah Terpstra who jacked one over the fence, and Lynden Christian held a 10-1 advantage. La Center scored twice in the top of the sixth, but VanLoo hit her second homerun in as many innings, and this one was the state clincher as it put the Lyncs up by 10 runs which ended the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Lenning also got the win as she struck out six batters over six innings, and Lynden Christian will now wait and see what seed it ends up with for the 1A state tournament.
W: Lenning (7-3)
LC: S. VanLoo 3-3, 2B, R, SB; Craig 2-2, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB; B. VanLoo 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB; Brink 2-3, R; Tolsma 1-4, RBI, R; VanSoest 1-4, R; Lenning 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R; Terpstra 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R.
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