Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The goal was to bring home a trophy from state, and in order to do it the route could be a long haul; four games on the second day of the state 2B tournament in Yakima.
Colfax made it three in, losing to two-time defending champion Toutle Lake 14-4, a game short of the trophies.
Opening the tournament Friday afternoon with an 11-6 win over Kittitas, Colfax advanced to a 7 p.m. game against Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, in the first year of their co-op. Whoever won would advance in the winner’s bracket to Day 2. The loser would drop into the long way of the loser’s bracket.
Colfax lost 10-6.
Leading 4-2 in the second inning, the two teams were tied at 4-4 before Pe Ell – Willapa Valley scored six runs to go up 10-4. Colfax came up with two more runs in the seventh but it was not enough.
At the plate for Colfax, Erica Eng, Andra Hamilton and Amara Huber all went 2 for 4. Sara Appel’s 3-RBI triple in the second inning put the Bulldogs up early.
Eng pitched all seven innings for four strikeouts, six walks, 11 hits and six earned runs.
In the 11-6 game one victory over Kittitas, Eng threw nine strikeouts with one walk, no earned runs and seven hits.
The team committed seven errors in the opener.
“We were fortunate with seven errors to win that game,” said Colfax coach Terry Eng.
Erica Eng also led Bulldogs’ hitters in game one, going 3 for 4 while Kori Goodwin went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Huber went 2 for 5 with three RBIs. Jolee Aeschlimann added two hits.
After the second round loss to Pe Ell-Willapa Valley, Colfax began day two in the loser’s bracket with a 10 a.m. matchup against Warden.
They won 7-0, powered by a Goodwin RBI double which put the Bulldogs up 4-0 in the second inning.
Advancing, Colfax met Dayton for a 12 p.m. game and won 10-7 as the sun climbed higher in the sky.
Colfax led 6-2 in the fourth inning before the Dayton Bulldogs kept chasing, eventually trailing 8-6 at one point in the top of the sixth.
Aeschlimann led at the plate, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a double. She also chased down a fly ball for a key catch. Other hitters included Brittney Lewis, Abby Miller and Andra Hamilton, all 3 for 4.
With the victory, Colfax players and coaches picked up their gear and walked from Field 4 to Field 2 for a 2 p.m. game.
Just the same, the Colfax parents walked alongside with coolers as players took string cheese, ham rolls and granola bars.
Moments later, Coach Terry Eng sat down on the bench in the Field 2 dugout.
“You have your lineup ready, Coach?” said an umpire walking up.
He did not.
Eng had to ask for a few minutes.
The show soon went on, and Erica Eng took the mound to start her third game in four hours.
In the end, the senior threw five strikeouts, allowed three walks and 16 hits for 11 earned runs in the 14-4 loss.
Huber went 2 for 2 to lead Colfax hitters while Aeschlimann went 1 for 3 with a single.
The game began with two scoreless innings before Toutle Lake went up 3-0 in the third, then 7-0. In the fifth, Colfax closed to within 7-4 before the Fighting Ducks blew it open in the sixth, scoring seven runs.
Colfax’s season ended a game short of where they hoped to be. They finished sixth, with the top four teams receiving trophies.
Ending with a 24-6 overall record, the Bulldogs posted the most wins ever by a Colfax softball team in a single season.
“We had a great year,” said Coach Eng. “It was just a little disappointing we didn’t get to our goal.”
The team will graduate seven seniors, including a veteran infield of four three-year starters: Eng, Goodwin, Huber and Lewis.
“A lot of experience I was able to trot out there on the field,” Eng said. “It was just really easy to coach these girls.”
Erica Eng concluded her Colfax High career with 581 strikeouts, including 295 her senior year.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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