MONROE — Marysville-Pilchuck’s third baseman showed District 1 why she has been nicknamed the Buck-n-ator.
Junior Katie Buck went 6-for-6 with three doubles and a home run to help the Lady Tomahawks earn their second state berth since 2004 with a pair of wins at the District 1 tournament.
“This was a big goal for us,” said Buck about earning a trip to the 4A state tournament. “We started off a little slow, but everybody came together and we’re really excited.”
The Tommies defeated Snohomish 15-4 to kick off the tournament, but trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning. After a 35-minute rain delay, games began with rain still falling, making pitching more of an adventure. After it cleared up, however, M-P pitchers Jen Rosie and Riley Fritz combined for 10 scoreless innings.
In the second game, the Tommies faced Arlington, which had defeated Mountlake Terrace 12-3 in the first round. M-P took advantage of freshman pitcher Vernoica Ladines, scoring nine runs in the first two innings off of six hits and four walks.
“They’ve gotten to every pitcher we have this year,” said Arlington coach Dan Eng. “You’ve got to hand it to them, they’re a great hitting team.”
The game lasted five innings due to the mercy rule, with M-P coming out a 13-0 winner and earning a trip to the state and the district championship game against Jackson at 5 p.m. on May 20. The Tommies improved to 19-2, but will face a Jackson team that has yet to lose in 2010 at 22-0.
Marysville’s offense was imposing from batters 1-9, as eight batters had at least one RBI against Arlington, and seven batters hit in at least one run against Snohomish.
“That’s a really good sign because although we were undefeated (16-0) in league play and in first place, our offense wasn’t consistent in my book,” said M-P coach KT Allyn.
Against Arlington, M-P sent all nine batters to the plate in both the second and fourth innings. Meanwhile, Fritz struck out four in five shutout innings, allowing just one hit, and at one point, retired 11 straight batters.
Also having standout days were Megan Rollings, who went 5-for-5 with two triples and three RBI, while Haley Fritz went 4-for-4 with a home run.
