Peninsula softball doesn't make state, but Seahawks walk away with memorable win

The Peninsula High School softball team may not have qualified for the Class 3A state tournament this season, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort.

In four games in the West Central District III/Southwest bidistrict softball tournament at the Regional Athletic Complex, Peninsula scored 38 runs in four games.

In a game that the players are sure to remember for their rest of their lives, Peninsula won 16-15 over Mountain View in the opening round of the tournament.

After two innings, the Seahawks trailed 10-2, and the game was starting to look out of reach. But the Seahawks started fighting back, scoring four runs in the fourth inning, before exploding for eight runs in the fifth inning, including a three-run homer by pitcher Kirsten Ritchie to give Peninsula a 13-10 lead.

Ritchie went 3-for-5 with two doubles and the homerun. Second baseman Baily Paul also had a big game for the Seahawks, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a single, a hit-by-pitch and a walk, to reach base in all five of her plate appearances.

In the bottom of the fifth, Mountain View took a 15-14 lead, scoring five runs in the inning. But Peninsula came back with an answer in the sixth inning, when a Ritchie double scored two runs and gave Peninsula the 16-15 lead, which the Seahawks held onto for the win.

“It was probably my favorite game I’ve ever been a part of,” Paul said. “We just came together. That’s what Peninsula is about. The energy we brought, the positivity, we were with each other and had each other’s backs. It was so much fun being part of that game.”

Paul, the team’s No. 3 hitter, benefitted from having Ritchie behind her in the cleanup spot in the lineup. Paul scored three runs in the win.

“(Ritchie) is a stud,” Paul said. “I never doubt her, ever. … She comes in clutch for us whenever we need her to.”

Ritchie, who said staying patient was crucial to her approach at the plate in the win, said it was nice to come out with the win in the back-and-forth contest.

“I feel just the excitement from it,” she said. “I just feel happy for our team getting that win. We haven’t always come out successful like that in the close games in the past. So it’s nice to get one there.”

Even after going down 10-2, Peninsula kept fighting.

“It really shows a lot about our perseverance, just battling back, keeping a positive mentality is really essential for us,” Ritchie said.

Peninsula lost its second game of the tournament to Stadium, 6-1, before battling back to beat Wilson, 20-11. Peninsula was bounced from the tournament with a 2-1 loss to league foe Yelm, which suffered its first loss of the season earlier in the tournament to Prairie, 6-3.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Peninsula softball doesn't make state, but Seahawks walk away with memorable win."