Melina Ness’ walk-off hit clinches 4A/3A NPSL softball title for Auburn Riverside
The Class 4A/3A North Puget Sound League league title was on the line, and Auburn Riverside High School softball was down to its final strike.
The Ravens, the league’s 3A champion, were trailing Tahoma, the 4A winner, by a run, and their only base runner stood was standing on second. With the count at 2-2, Sadie Jensen saw a pitch she couldn’t resist.
Jensen singled to center to bring home Raquel Reising and tie the game at 5-5. Saige Aarstad entered as a pinch runner, and catcher Melina Ness stepped into the batter’s box with a chance to win it for the Ravens on their home field.
Ness fouled off the first pitch. Then, she took ball one. The third pitch she slammed to right center, scoring Aarstad from first and clinching the league’s overall title.
“If nothing else, there’s not a better kid to be in that situation than Melina,” Ravens coach Bryce Strand said. “She doesn’t ever get too high, too low. … That’s Melina. So, you talk about a perfect temperament for a kid in that spot, it was her.
“And obviously, she delivered.”
Ness’ double capped off a 6-5 win for the Ravens, who upended a perennial powerhouse in the Bears. They represented the gold standard of the league, Strand said.
Tahoma grabbed an early 1-0 lead on an Emma Dazell sacrifice fly in the first, and controlled the game through five innings. Auburn Riverside’s hitters were retired in order through the first two frames, and it wasn’t until Bailee Brader drew a two-out walk in the third that a Raven reached base.
“We do our thing, and that’s kind of our mantra,” Strand said. “Just do our thing all the way through the game, and the score takes care of itself. … I’m so proud of these girls.”
Kaitlyn Anardi checked in with a leadoff double in the fourth for Auburn Riverside’s first hit. Ness drew a one-out walk, but Tahoma worked around the threat, keeping the score at 1-0.
The Bears extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth, when Dazell cranked a bases loaded, two-run single to center. But it was a pair of two-run home runs for the Ravens — by Reising in the fifth and Emily Blubaugh in the sixth — that flipped the score late.
“I think it’s how we handle things,” Strand said. “We always talk about our approach. We block out the noise, we don’t worry about the situation. We just do our thing. At the end, our kids stayed in the at-bat and didn’t let the moment get too big for itself. I think we just saw the results of that, and so I was just really proud.”
Down 4-3 in the seventh, Tahoma plated two runs on an RBI double by Brenna Henry and sacrifice fly from Hailey Sheffer to retake the lead.
Three outs away from the title, Sheffer struck out the first batter she faced in the seventh — her final of 10 strikeouts in the contest — but Reising followed, and lined an 0-2 pitch into center field for a double.
The tying run was on second. Tahoma recorded a second out on a pop up. But, then came Jensen’s single and Ness’ game-winning double.
“We never gave up,” Ness said. “We always come out and win the fight.”
Ness’ goal next year is for the Ravens to reach the state tournament, given the COVID-19 pandemic canceled playoffs around the state this spring.
And she walked off the field with a championship-clinching double Saturday to cap an impressive comeback as the Ravens look ahead.
“Everyone was hitting,” Ness said. “When everyone’s in that mood, I just have to come out and do it, too.”
4A/3A NPSL BOYS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Kennedy Catholic 8, Auburn Mountainview 1: Every day, coach John Gavino told his Kennedy Catholic soccer team the same thing — play your best soccer at the end of the season.
And the Lancers did.
Kennedy Catholic played to draws in its opening pair of matches this season, and lost its third, but the final seven matches in this shortened season ended with wins, and the Lancers clinched a 4A NPSL title.
“I think the big thing was they were trying to get used to my style of play,” Gavino said. “It was something new for a lot of the boys, and for them to understand what my expectations were. … I think once they started to get a hold of that, it really showed what they could do to finish out the season.”
The Lancers capped their season with a decisive win over the Lions, the league’s 3A champion, in a crossover meeting Friday night in Auburn.
The 8-1 win was Kennedy Catholic’s largest margin of victory this season.
Midfielders Mark Rivera, Uriel Madrigal, and Jose Pineda-Anguiano led the scoring attack for the Lancers.
“Basically right down the middle, I’ve got what I like to call the spine of the team from top to bottom,” Gavino said. “They all came together and really just took over.”
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Keoni Gavino made crucial saves throughout the match to keep Auburn Mountainview’s offense in check and allow the Lancers to build a comfortable lead.
“I said my goal for them is to play their best ball at the end of the season, and that’s really what they did,” Gavino said. “They came out and played. They made it really easy for me as a coach to just sit back and watch them do their thing.”
4A/3A NPSL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Tahoma high school girls track and field program — the three-time defending 4A state champion — ran away with another league title at the 4A/3A NPSL championships Friday and Saturday at French Field in Kent.
The Bears took home individual titles in 11 of 18 events on their way to scoring 345 team points, topping both second-place Kentridge (92) and third-place Kentwood (84) by more than 250 points.
Harvard-bound sprinter Adaji Osaro-Igwe won the 200 meters, and anchored Tahoma’s winning 4x100 relay team — which also includes Kasee Aczon, Shanthi Hall and Brooke Lyons — which posted a state-best time of 48.56 seconds.
Lyons also won the 400, while Sara Sanders won both the 800 and 1,600 and Kate Sanders won the 3,200.
The 4x400 relay team of Julia Stuard, Theresa Barnhart, Sara Sanders and Faith Martinez also took home a title.
The Bears added more points in the field events with Britten Ikeomu winning both the shot put and discus, Reagan Ince winning the high jump and Katie Welsh winning the pole vault.
Kentwood’s Emma Pollak, a Colorado commit, won the 100 (personal-best 11.93), 100 hurdles (personal-best 15.17) and 300 hurdles (personal-best 43.05).
She wrapped up her season leading the state in the 100, and was the only sprinter this spring to post a time faster than 12 seconds. Pollak’s time in the 300 hurdles is also a state-best mark by more than three seconds, and her 100 hurdles time ranks third.
Federal Way’s Esther Akinlosotu won both the long jump and triple jump.
The 3A girls meet had several multi-event winners.
Thomas Jefferson’s Sophia McDonald won the 100, 200 and pole vault.
Auburn Riverside’s Samena Tate won both the 400 and 800, while teammate Jasmin Muneton won the 1,600 and 3,200. The Ravens also swept the three relays.
Kent Meridian’s Makayla McIntosh won the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
Thomas Jefferson’s Dyvhine Fonoti won the shot put and javelin.
The Raiders (141 points) won the 3A girls team title over Auburn Riverside (126.5) and Kentlake (122.5).
Tahoma won the 4A boys team title with 196 points, topping Federal Way and (139) and Kentridge (112).
Cameron Stuard won both the 1,600 and 3,200 for the Bears, and ran leg of Tahoma’s winning 4x400 relay, while teammate Donaven Humphries won both the shot put and discus.
Federal Way’s Isaiah Davis won the 100 and 200, and ran leg of the Eagles’ winning 4x100 relay, while teammate Drew Klein won the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump.
In the 3A boys meet, Auburn Mountainview (144) won team title over Auburn Riverside (131) and Auburn (97).
The Lions swept the two relays, while Keanu Mailoto won both the shot put and discus for Auburn Mountainview.
Kent Meridian’s KD Dhillon won the 100 and 200, while teammate Peter Lopez won both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
Todd Beamer’s Austin Steed won the 1,600 and 3,200.
Staff writer Lauren Smith contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 22, 2021 at 6:36 PM.