Sixteen years ago, Ashley Andrews patrolled shortstop for Tumwater High School as the Thunderbirds won the 2006 state 3A softball championship with a tense 1-0 win over North Mason.

Two weeks ago, Andrews, now the T-Birds’ coach, watched the girl she believes is the best current shortstop in Thurston County set the tone with a leadoff double as Tumwater won this year’s 2A title with a 13-3 rout of top-seeded Othello.

Aly Waltermeyer, a University of the Pacific signee with a knack for defensive wizardry, was an unstoppable force for Tumwater during the state tournament in Selah, leading off two games with home runs and two others with doubles.

For the season, she hit .549, scoring 32 runs and driving in 21. All three of her home runs came at state.

She also one-upped Andrews’ performance in 2006, earning The Olympian’s All-Area player of the year honor for 2022. Andrews’ teammate, pitcher Lindsay Vander Lugt, took the honor during Tumwater’s last title run, though Andrews was All-Area basketball player of the year in 2007.

Andrews believes Waltermeyer, who played one season for Tumwater after transferring from Olympia, was the best local player by far this season and the best defensive player she saw anywhere, with a .984 fielding percentage.

“You’re going to put the best athlete on your team at shortstop,” said Andrews. “Aly plays the position better than anyone I’ve seen play it in a long time.”

Waltermeyer has exceptional range to her forehand and backhand as well as going back to the outfield to snare pop flies. She has a strong arm and a feel for the game as it unfolds.

“Mentally, she’s always a play ahead,” Andrews said. “Not just what she’s going to do if the ball comes to her, but where is anyone else going to throw the ball and where does she need to be? It’s next-level thinking and one of the reasons she’s going to Division I.”

It’s not surprising Waltermeyer, whose younger sister Kylie has been her teammate in basketball and softball at both Olympia and Tumwater, learned the game inside and out.

Her parents, Ben and Lacy, a former St. Martin’s player, put a ball in her hands as soon as she could walk. She’s played on teams since age seven, always at shortstop.

“I’ve made some of my best friends through the sport and without it in my life I’d never stay focused,” she said.

Waltermeyer’s knack as a leadoff hitter comes down to keeping things simple.

“We talk a lot about ‘what’s your pitch?’” said Andrews. “If you look for the pitch you want to hit, it really doesn’t matter who the pitcher is. Whatever she was looking for, she got it early in the count at state, sometimes on the first pitch of the game.”

Waltermeyer liked the challenge.

“When there’s someone new pitching, I want to prove myself,” she said. “When I take the field, I want to portray myself as the best player out there. My family’s always used the term ‘flip the switch.’ It’s game time, you don’t go out there just to play and have fun, you go out there to win.”

While winning the state championship was gratifying for the T-Birds, Waltermeyer says an earlier home victory over W.F. West propelled Tumwater into districts on a high note.

“Going into battle with the girls we had was unforgettable,” said Waltermeyer who has been long been friends with Bearcats’ pitcher Kamy Dacus, coincidentally last season’s All-Area player of the year.

She’s worked with top players since joining the Corvallis-based Northwest Bullets at age 12. These days she makes the 197-mile drive to practice herself or carpools, saying the experience is worth the mileage.

“I’m surrounded by amazing athletes and coaches,” she said. “I’m very grateful to have grown up in that program. I can look back and say, ‘hey, I’ve played with the best girls in the states of Oregon and Washington. I can compete with anyone.”

She views UOP coach Brian Kolze, who’ll be in his 31st year in 2023, as one of the best in the nation, saying, “I can’t wait to go down there and learn from him.”

Still, for all her take-charge confidence as a high school player, Waltermeyer has a little trepidation about taking the big step from 2A to Division I.

“I need to know that I belong there and that no matter what happens in the sport, it’s just a sport,” she said.

Andrews understands. She transitioned from small town three-sport superstar to a piece of the puzzle for nationally-competitive Tennessee, where she ultimately became a four-year starter, making a position switch to catcher midway through.

“You see these athletes on TV and social media,” she remembered. “They’re these superstars and you’re sitting here in Tumwater, Washington, asking ‘can I do that?’ Now that I’m removed from it, I can say ‘yes, Aly, you’ve earned it and you’re going to compete well.’

“It’s a good thing. She gets how big of a deal it is and takes it seriously. I love that about her.”

PAST ALL-AREA SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

2001: Sasha Gray, P, Chehalis

2002-03: None selected

2004: Ryanne Horton, P. Olympia

2005: Alicia Matthews, 1B-P-C, Yelm & Tara Curtis, P, Black Hills

2006: Lindsay Vander Lugt, P. Tumwater

2007: Annaleisha Parsley, P, Timberline & Cindy Baxter, P, River Ridge

2008: None selected

2009: Ramona Lorton, P, Centralia & Kassy Williamson, C, Capital

2010: Chelsea Felton, P, Tumwater

2011: Kierstin Smith, P, Tumwater

2012: Kierstin Smith, P, Tumwater

2013: Nikki Schroder, C, Olympia

2014: Maddy Stensby, P, Olympia

2015: Maddy Stensby, P, Olympia

2016: Ally Choate, CF, Yelm

2017: Ally Choate, CF, Yelm

2018: Drea Schwaier, P, Yelm

2019: Tayelyn Cutler, P, Yelm

2020: No season played

2021: Kamy Dacus, P, W.F. West

This story was originally published June 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.