Royals clinch trip to NWAC Softball Championship with pair of weekend wins

The Royals softball team punched their ticket to the 2019 NWAC Softball Championship with a pair of wins on Saturday. Douglas celebrated Sophomore Day by breaking out the big bats, putting up 20 runs on Saturday over two games against the Shoreline Dolphins.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in the first inning, the Dolphins were feeling the pressure early, and were lucky to escape the frame only down by a single run. A Caitlin Redmond sacrifice fly increased the lead to two in the third inning before Douglas blew the doors off in the fifth as Shelby Kwak came around to score early in the inning on a fielder's choice. Hannah Menard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in a run before Brooke Stoilen walked to score another, and a Kalihan Huntley two-run single pushed the Royals lead to seven. Redmond added her second sacrifice fly of the game to tack on another run in the sixth and final inning as the Royals won 8-0. Jessica Podskalny was fantastic as usual, allowing just four hits in a complete game shutout.

The second game of the day saw Shoreline give Douglas an early scare as Tiffany Pardey cranked a two-run homer in the first inning, but Shelby Kwak put an end to the deficit with a two-run shot of her own in the home half. The Royals put up a huge two-out rally in the second inning, scoring four runs after the second out to open up a 6-2 lead, punctuated by a two-run single from Huntley. Even more impressive was their fifth-inning showing, as the Royals put up a five-spot, thanks in part to a monster three-run double from Keyanna Olsen. An Emily Latrace RBI double was the icing on the cake of a 12-4 win for Douglas.

With the pair of wins, the Royals are now 14-2 in their last 16 games, and just one game back of the second-place spot in the conference. The result also means that Douglas has clinched  Bellevue has clinched the top spot in the North, but the Royals have a chance to snatch second from Edmonds this weekend when they visit the Tritons on Saturday. Douglas will need a strong showing at home on Friday to stay in the hunt, hosting Olympic College on Friday in the final home games of the 2019 season.