‘We’re here’: Fife softball ready for state after district-championship run
Ashley Kruse and Madison Walls couldn’t hold back their excitement. At Fife High School on Wednesday, the softball teammates were T-minus 24 hours from their departure to Carlon Fields in Selah, where the Trojans are to begin their run in the 2A state tournament.
Kruse, a senior, has yet to reach the state tournament in her high school career. Her freshman year ended in the district bracket, and the pandemic wiped out state competition in each of the next two seasons. Neither has Walls, the team’s sophomore pitcher.
“I’ve tried to do a lot for this school,” Kruse said, “and I’m just so excited to get to represent the school in a state game. It’s amazing.”
Fife entered last week’s District ⅔ 2A bracket as the seventh seed, but quickly put the tournament on notice with an upset win over second-ranked Enumclaw on May 20. They took down Sequim in the semifinals a day later, 6-3, and capped their title run with a championship win over Olympic by the same score.
The Trojans’ first-round win over Enumclaw, in coach Ron Angelot’s words, was the first “perfect win” of the season. The game required nine innings, and Fife took a 1-1 tie to the ninth before rallying for two runs and holding on, 3-2.
The pitching duel brought championship-game intensity, Angelot said. Fife’s signature win not only secured a state allocation but sent favorite Enumclaw to the loser’s bracket.
It was at that point, specifically, that Walls and the team knew a run was imminent.
“After that first game, we just stopped,” Walls said. “And everyone’s like, ‘oh gosh, we’re going to make it all the way.’
“We just beat the best team here.”
Kruse was nervous for the entire week leading up to the meeting with Enumclaw, unsure of how the game would play out. The eventual win which sent Fife to the state tournament brought relief, she said. Angelot said the team was, of course, “thrilled.”
“We had a rocky start this year,” Kruse said. “We weren’t the closest team. ... But we’ve really become a family over the course of these last four months. And going to state, and winning those three games shows how much we’ve worked together to get here.
“I’m so proud of us. We pulled through.”
Angelot, in his first season as Fife’s coach, noticed improvements in the team’s play as the year progressed. Plate discipline “catapulted” hitting numbers and offensive production as Walls dazzled inside the circle, notching 103 strikeouts with a 3.35 earned run average in 54 ⅓ innings. She appeared in all three of Fife’s district-tournament wins and landed on the 2A SPSL’s first team.
“Madison has been lights out,” Angelot said. “She’s got the speed. She’s got the movement. She’s got the different pitches, and the tenacity.”
Senior third baseman Savannah Yeats suffered a season-ending injury earlier this season after taking a line drive to the hand, and suddenly, Kruse was left as the only senior on the active roster. Angelot dubbed her the team’s “biggest cheerleader,” having made close relationships with teammates over previous seasons.
“Sometimes I feel like their mom, almost,” Kruse said with a laugh. “I love them all so much. I’ve seen them all grow over the last few years.”
“Ashley’s the team mom here,” Walls assured.
Kruse, a utility defender and pitcher, stepped up in Yeats’ absence, posting a .378/.511/.432 slash line with 10 RBI this season. She was a soccer player in earlier years, but softball “won her over,” she said. Walls took up the sport at the age of six, joining a local tee-ball team.
Bryce Lindenmuth was Angelot’s second stalwart pitcher alongside Walls, combining for the bulk of Fife’s innings. Lindenmuth earned second-team honors.
Infielder Sofia Payne is the only freshman on the team, plus an even mix of sophomores and juniors. Of Fife’s roster, none have competed at state. The Trojans depart for Selah on Thursday to attend a tournament-wide banquet and meet No. 12 Lakewood at 12 p.m. Friday.
“I think that’s what’s really scary about this team,” Angelot said. “They’re all going to come back next year.”
Randi Bushnell and Nina Green help make up Fife’s coaching staff, both having played for the program. Green graduated last year, and was teammates with much of the current roster.
Both are vital contributors to a winning culture Angelot credits for the success in Fife’s program. Bushnell and Green know “what’s expected” and “what it takes to win.”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean wins and losses,” he added. “That means coming in with the expectation that we’re going to put forth maximum effort. We’re going to be good teammates to each other. We’re going to lift each other up. If we do those things and we work at our craft, the wins are going to come.”
Fife’s state appearance provides Angelot with validation for his efforts and excitement for a young Trojans team, which met Wednesday for an indoor batting-cage work above the school’s gymnasium.
Kruse’s weekend at Carlon Field marks the end of her high school career at the highest level of competition. She’s adamant she’ll finish the season strong, and expects plenty of tears. Her teammates helped get there, she added.
Said Walls: “(I’m most excited) to get to spend the rest of Ashley’s senior year with her.”
