Toledo offense stays hot in upset win over Okanogan
May 24—Box Score
At Gateway Sports Complex (Yakima)
RIVERHAWKS 24, BULLDOGS 1 (5 inn.)
Toledo 1(19)3 10 — 24
Okanogan 000 01 — 1
TOL Pitching — Holter 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 K; Carver 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Highlights — Q. Norberg 4-6, 3B, RBI, 4 R; Hurley 4-5, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 R; Z. Norberg 3-4, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, 3 R; Holter 3-5, 2 RBI, 4 R; Lairson 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, 4 R
YAKIMA — Toledo didn't just hit the ball well on Friday.
"We flat out hit the crap out of it," Toledo coach Jeff Davis said.
He was right, as after the tenth-seeded Riverhawks scored 14 on Ocosta earlier in the day, they scored 24 against No. 2 Okanogan, winning their quarterfinal matchup against the Bulldogs 24-1.
"We just continued with that," Davis said. "They're pretty pumped."
Most of the damage came in a 19-run second inning, one where the first 12 batters of the inning reached safely.
By the end of the inning, the Riverhawks had tallied 15 base hits, including a two-run home run from Kailea Lairson and a three-run triple from Zaya Norberg, and they sent 25 batters to the plate. Okanogan committed six errors, and Toledo's lead had ballooned from 1-0 to 20-0.
Davis said that they had been preparing to face the velocity from Ocosta's Jessie Gilbert, and the extra time in the cages paid off against Okanogan.
Seven Riverhawks collected two or more hits, including Quyn Norberg and Camryn Hurley, who tallied four each, and they both drove in a run.
Zaya Norberg finished with her three RBIs from her second-inning triple, and she also tallied two more hits and scored three times.
Lairson and Peyton Holter collected three hits each, and they combined to drive in five.
That much cushion would be enough for nearly any pitcher, and Holter was no exception. She struggled with her command at times, walking five, but she allowed just one hit and struck out six in four shutout innings.
For the second straight game, the Toledo defense committed no errors behind her.
"You gotta play both sides of the ball," Davis said. "And I thought she did a great job."
Davis also noted that there was no fear from the girls of going into a quarterfinal with the No. 2 seed, saying that at this point of the season, those numbers don't hold much weight.
"You're comparing apples to oranges," Davis said. "Anybody that's here, forget the scores. They're good teams ... We're one of them. We're a good team."
"But we gotta keep going," he continued. "There's a lot of softball left, and hopefully we leave here with some trophies."
The Riverhawks (21-6) are now just one win away from earning a trophy. Even with a loss in the semifinals, a win in the next consolation game would put them in the third-place game. They'll take on No. 6 Warden, which upset No. 3 Forks in another quarterfinal, at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
A win there would put Toledo in its first state championship game since 2003, and the Riverhawks would be vying for their first state title since they won the 1A tournament in 2001.
"I think we'll be ready for them," Davis said. "I think we're gonna hit the ball. I would say that no matter who we're facing, because that's what we did today."
