Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Colton softball
(Front row, left to right) Hailey Meyer, Jenna Moser, Kaden Dahmen, Kaitlin Druffel, Hannah Kramer, Maryann Jacobs. (Back row, left to right) Head Coach Brad Nilson, Zoe Moser, Kamryn Nuttman, Carrie Hennigar, Savannah Chadwick, Winnie Schultheis, Rachel Meyer, Daylynn Smith, Kendyl Druffel, Emma Schultheis and Assistant Coach Taryn Russell.
Right before the 1B District 7/9 softball tournament, Colton coach Brad Nilson noticed that his team was swinging at pitches they shouldn’t be.
In batting practice, he started to throw pitches in order to make sure they don’t.
Trying to aim balls in and out of the strike zone, he’d stop practice when a player swung at something not right.
"They knew," he said. "But they had to recognize the right pitches sooner or we’d discuss why they didn’t hit."
Two weeks later, the Wildcats won their fifth straight state championship, concluding a six-loss season.
Playing in Yakima Sunday afternoon against Almira-Coulee-Hartline, Colton trailed 8-7 going into the bottom of the seventh inning.
After Zoe Moser hit a double and Savannah Chadwick got on base with a walk, sophomore catcher Carrie Hennigar came up to bat.
"And she swings at one she’s not supposed to," said Nilson with a smile.
The high ball was one of two strikes when she hit a line drive down the third baseline to end the game and make Colton the state 1B softball champions.
The hit drove in Moser and Chadwick for the tying and winning runs.
"She had a great tournament," said Nilson, noting that aside from hitting, Hennigar had no passed balls in the whole state tournament as catcher.
Earlier in the final, sophomore Winnie Schultheis hit a home run to tie the score in the second inning.
"It was a line drive over the fence," said Nilson.
Meanwhile, Schultheis was one half of Colton’s pitching combination that threw for the tournament and beyond. In the state final, she pitched five innings to allow two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Freshman Moser pitched for two innings to give up six runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout.
"We wouldn’t be there without our pitchers," Nilson said. "They complement each other so well."
At the plate, Hennigar went 3 for 4 with five RBIs while Hannah Kramer went 3 for 3, Jenna Moser went 2 for 3 and Zoe Moser 2 for 4.
It all added up to a state championship in a year in which seventh-year Head Coach Nilson was unsure it could happen for most of it.
"Ever since we went into that District 7/9 tournament, I could see the potential," he said.
As for the 2013 state championship, the coach said he’s had mainly one reaction so far.
"It still hasn’t sunk in yet," he said. "I’m already nervous about next year."
State semifinal: Colton 18, Selkirk 0
Shultheis led Colton hitters, going 4 for 4 while Jenna Moser and Kaden Dahmen went 2 for 3. In addition, Kramer and Zoe Moser went 2 for 4.
On the mound, Zoe Moser threw for two innings to allow no runs on two hits and two strikeouts. Schultheis pitched two innings, giving up one hit with two strikeouts.
First round: Colton 9, Klickitat 2
Kramer and Jenna Moser led Wildcat hitters, each going 2 for 3 while Rachel Meyer went 2 for 4.
On the mound, Shultheis struck out eight batters in four innings, allowing one hit and no runs. Moser threw for three innings to give up two runs on two hits with seven strikeouts.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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