Fastpitch: Young TJ finishes 1-2 at state

The Thomas Jefferson softball team finished 1-2 during the 2011 Class 4A state tournament Friday in Spokane.

By Casey Olson • May 31, 2011 2:00 pm
The Thomas Jefferson fastpitch team finished 1-2 at the Class 4A State Tournament at Merkel Park in Spokane Friday.
The Thomas Jefferson fastpitch team finished 1-2 at the Class 4A State Tournament at Merkel Park in Spokane Friday.

The Thomas Jefferson softball team finished 1-2 during the 2011 Class 4A state tournament Friday in Spokane.

The Raiders lost in the opening round at Merkel Park to the eventual state-champion Walla Walla Blue Devils Friday afternoon, 10-0, before beating fellow South Puget Sound League member Rogers, 5-3, later in the day. The Tahoma Bears then knocked TJ out of the tournament with a 19-7 win Friday evening.

The win over Rogers gave the Raiders a little revenge from an earlier loss during the season. Rogers beat Jefferson, 8-7, during the SPSL Tournament on May 13. The Rams scored six straight runs to erase a 7-2 TJ lead.

But the Raiders couldn’t string two wins together Friday and lost to the SPSL North champion Tahoma Bears for the second time this season.

The Raiders actually jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead over the Bears before Tahoma’s offense took over.

The Bears got home runs from Jordan Walley and Shelby Carter.

The future looks even brighter for the TJ softball program, which has played at the state tournament in three of the last four seasons. The Raiders’ roster included only two seniors with only one of them seeing any significant playing time, Allie Crowe.

The Raiders will bring back first-team, All-South Puget Sound League North Division members Katie Jackson and Lexi Goranson, along with second-teamer Annalise Campbell.