Vote now for The News Tribune’s Softball Athlete of the Week (May 18 to 23)
Vote now for The News Tribune’s Softball Athlete of the Week for contests played between May 18-23. Voting will remain open until noon Friday.
The poll is located below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below.
Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. Votes emailed will not be counted.
Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley (jon.manley@thenewstribune.com) or Tyler Wicke (twicke@thenewstribune.com) or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) with the athlete’s first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday.
McKenna Charlton, White River — The junior third baseman’s walk-off single capped a three-run comeback in the seventh inning and lifted White River over Seattle Prep, 6-5, in the Class 3A state opening round on Thursday. Charlton finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Manamea Laban, Graham-Kapowsin — Freshman right fielder doubled and tripled (2-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI) in a 10-0 win over Tahoma in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Friday.
Bailey Martin, Puyallup — Freshman center fielder went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in a Class 4A state consolation win over Juanita, 8-4, on Friday.
Payton McCulloch, Graham-Kapowsin — Leadoff center fielder homered and went 2-for-4 with three RBI, helping lift the Eagles over Juanita, 7-1, in the Class 4A state opening round on Friday.
Sierra Murray, Rogers — The sophomore right-hander’s complete-game one-hitter (7 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K) guided the Rams past Kamiak, 3-1, in the Class 4A state opening round on Friday. Murray added a complete-game shutout (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K) in a consolation win over North Creek, 6-0, later Friday.
Brooklyn Pettit, Graham-Kapowsin — Sophomore right-hander guided Graham-Kapowsin to the 4A state championship game and a runner-up finish. In three state wins over Juanita, Tahoma and Richland, Pettit tossed three complete games (19 IP), allowing three earned runs with eight walks and 36 strikeouts.
Alexa Ramirez, Tahoma — The junior right-hander’s complete-game shutout (7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 11 K) powered the Bears past Puyallup, 1-0, in the Class 4A state opening round on Friday. Ramirez added a complete-game shutout (7 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 10 K) in a consolation win over West Valley, 7-0, later Friday.
Paisley Steiner, Tahoma — The sophomore’s go-ahead, RBI triple capped a three-run comeback in the seventh inning and lifted Tahoma over Issaquah, 6-5, in a Class 4A state consolation on Saturday. Steiner’s eventual game-winner clinched a top-four finish in the state bracket.
Kalea Yelle, Tahoma — Junior third baseman homered in consecutive Class 4A state consolation wins over West Valley and Rogers, finishing a combined 5-for-7 with two home runs, six runs and six RBI.
