MOSES LAKE – Winning a championship of any kind is never easy. Especially when you have to earn it the hard way, which is exactly what the Whatcom Wolverines did on Sunday.
The Wolverines began the tournament on Friday by defeating Freedom Fastpitch 7-0, and Rampage Intensity 10-2. Whatcom then beat the Kitsap Titans 9-6 on Saturday which vaulted them into the semifinals against Menace (Richland) on Sunday.
Menace upended the Wolverines 15-4 on Sunday, which sent Whatcom to the loser’s bracket. Work would have to be done from there, and it was.
A grand slam by Ferndale’s Kaelin Blakley helped the Wolverines avoid elimination as they took down the Vancouver Huskies 9-7. The win allowed the Wolverines a second chance against Menace. However, to win the chamipionship, the Wolverines would have to beat the previously unbeaten Menace twice.
Mount Baker’s Gracie Zender helped the Wolverines get off to a fast start by belting a homerun, which helped lead them to a 9-2 victory. Blaine’s Emersyn Bakker got the win, and the Wolverines tallied 12 hits in the contest. The victory set up a third and final matchup between the two teams, and this one was for all the marbles.
In a tightly-contested game that saw the lead switch four times early on, the Wolverines poured it on in the sixth inning when Blakley launched a three-run homerun. Mount Baker’s Ava Jeretzky earned the victory in the final contest, in which the Wolverines won 14-6.
The Wolverines collected 73 hits on the weekend, and outscored their opponents by a total of 24 runs.
The Whatcom Wolverines roster is made up of Blakley and Payton Akers from Ferndale; Jeretzky, Zender and Annalee Cohn from Mount Baker; Bakker, Piper Nissen and Shaylie Daniels from Blaine; Melanie Anderson and Childrey DeJong from Lynden; Sydney TenKley from Meridian and Grace Swenson from Sedro-Woolley. The Wolverines are coached by Kevin Bakker, and his assistants Seth Jeretzky and Greg Blakley.
