Women’s Softball exits in Semi-Finals at NWAC Championships
By Quinn Allen
A 4 and 2 record wasn’t enough for the Douglas College Royals Softball team to return back to the NWAC final as they lost to Lower Columbia in the Semi-finals on Sunday to end their season.
Game one for the Lady Royals on Saturday morning would see Big Bend CC take down Douglas by a score of 11 to 5. Jessica Fasolino was absolutely stellar on the mound for Douglas in the loss. She threw four innings striking out eight hitters while giving up five unearned runs. Shortstop Kim Anderson had a big day at the plate for Douglas, going 3 for 4 with two doubles.
With the loss, Douglas would move down to the one-loss bracket. That would match them up with Southwest Oregon on Saturday afternoon, who they would beat 7-1. Jessica Fasolino would once again dominate on the mound throwing a complete game, giving up just one run, six hits, and striking out twelve Southwest Oregon batters. Offensively, Keyanna Olsen and Janessa Hanson both went deep for the Royals in the win.
In game 3 on Saturday night, Douglas would just edge Mount Hood by a score of 7-6. Jessica Fasolino would start again for Douglas, going 3.2 innings and giving up just one earned run to get the win. Kira Staley would get the save for the Royals, tossing 3.1 innings in relief. Offensively, Douglas exploded for 12 hits, led by Rachel Warburton and Shelby Kwak who both had two hits each.
Sunday’s first game would see Douglas come up against conference rivals, Bellevue. The Royals would come out on top in this one with an 11-9 win. Jessica Fasolino threw 2.1 innings for Douglas, giving up three earned runs. Jessica Podskanly would end up getting the win on the mound for the Royals, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings. Offensively, Douglas banged out twelve hits. Cassa Courtney hit her 10th homer of the year, while four other Royals had two or more hits in the win.
Their second game on Sunday would be against another conference rival, Everett. The Royals would once again get the best of their NWAC north rivals by a score of 6-4. Jessica Podskanly got the win on the mound for Douglas, going 4.1 innings, giving up three earned runs to Everett. Kira Staley got the save after throwing 1.2 scoreless innings. At the plate, Shelby Kwak led the offense with a 2 for 3 day.
The Semis on Sunday night would see Douglas take on powerhouse Lower Columbia. Jessica Fasolino would once again start on the mound, but the Lower Columbia offense was too much as the Royals were defeated 9-3. Fasolino went four innings, giving up seven earned runs in the loss. Offensively, Cassa Courtney and Kim Anderson both went 2 for 4 at the plate. They were faced with some very good pitching as Lower Columbia starter Nizhoni Wheeler threw a complete game.
The Royals didn’t complete their goal of winning the NWAC Championships, but the ladies did finish the season with an impressive 39 and 7 record. With the recent success of the program in the past few years, the future looks very bright for Douglas College Softball.
