Norfleet tosses complete game shutout, Rogers softball posts walk-off win against Olympia
Thursday night’s Class 4A South Puget Sound League softball showdown wasn’t decided until the final pitch.
Inning after inning, as light rain consistently fell at Heritage Recreation Center in Puyallup, Rogers starter Keagan Norfleet posted scoreless frames. So did Olympia starter Sami Potvin.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh, when Rams catcher Ryan Breer stepped to the plate with one out, and sent the game-winning hit into right center, ending what was a scoreless tie with a 1-0 walk-off victory for Rogers.
“It’s really big,” Breer said of the win. “ … Honestly, we showed that we can beat any team in this league, and even though we struggle sometimes, we still come back and compete, and still battle throughout the whole entire game.”
The Rams (12-4, 11-4 4A SPSL) opened their season on a nine-game winning streak before dropping their first loss of the spring in the first meeting with Olympia in late April. The Bears (15-3, 13-3) won that matchup, 1-0, with a walk-off victory in the eighth.
For Rogers, that defeat started a stretch of four losses in six league contests — Sumner, South Kitsap and crosstown rival Puyallup also picked up wins against the Rams during that span — but Thursday’s win over the 4A SPSL-leading Bears gives the Rams a spark with one week of league play remaining.
“I feel like we found our groove again,” Norfleet said. “We were in a little bit of a slump, but we found our groove again.”
Norfleet shut down Olympia’s offense in the circle, tossing a seven-inning complete game shutout, and allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven.
Norfleet stranded four Bears base runners across the final three innings — including three in scoring position — ending both the fifth and sixth with strikeouts, and the seventh with a groundout.
Alyssa Hoff — who was 3-for-4 with a double — and Ava Bautista tallied Olympia’s only four hits.
Potvin retired the side in order each of the first four innings for the Bears, and was perfect through the first 14 batters before Rogers center fielder Sydney Sasaki singled up the middle with two outs in the fifth for the Rams’ first hit of the game.
Potvin ended the inning with a fielder’s choice two batters later, then struck out the side in the sixth.
Norfleet led off the bottom of the seventh for the Rams with a double, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Kendra Lewis. That brought Breer to the plate with one out.
“At that point, I was just trying to get a ball to the right side,” Breer said. “The right side, it scores the run.”
Breer sent the decisive hit to right center moments later, scoring Norfleet from third as the Rams’ dugout cheered and emptied.
“It was just really exciting,” Breer said. “The adrenaline was really high.”
Potvin allowed the one run on three hits while striking out 12 across 6 1/3 innings.
Olympia is now tied with Emerald Ridge atop the 4A SPSL standings, and defending champion Puyallup, Sumner and Rogers are also all still in the mix.
The Bears play on the road at Graham-Kapowsin and Puyallup next week, while the Rams have second meetings with Bethel, Curtis and South Kitsap still ahead.
Rogers is also scheduled to play 3A state contender Bonney Lake in a nonleague contest before the regular season wraps up.
As the playoffs near, the Rams will look to continue to build off of Thursday’s thrilling win.
“I think this year we all became a family, we became closer,” Norfleet said. “It’s not just a team, we all enjoy being with each other.”
