The 16 and Under Federal Way Lady Knights fast pitch softball team won the National Softball Association State Championship this last weekend in the Tri-Cities, cruising through the tournament handily to bring some hardware home to Federal Way.

The girls started off the tournament with an 8-1 win over Selah fast pitch on June 27, and never looked back, according to coach Gary Haven. Saturday saw the team take out the Bellingham Avalanche 5-2 and the Tri-Cities Thunder 10-2. On June 29, an 8-3 win over the Seattle Storm put the Lady Knights into the Championship game against the Spokane Lakesiders.

According to Haven, the Lady Knights surged to a 3-0 lead after three innings, until the Lakesiders tied it up in the fourth and then opened up a six-run lead in the fifth inning. The fifth inning was the decisive inning, with the Lady Knights exploding for 10 runs in their half of the inning, helping seal the 15-11 win for the state title.

In the title game, the Lady Knights totaled 16 hits, led by Jaysha Ford and Bailey Nelson. Ford went 3-3 with a walk and 3 RBI, while Nelson went 3-3 with a walk and 2 RBI. Maddy Seumalo pitched a complete game to clinch the title. In total, the Lady Knights outscored their opponents 46-19 on their way to the title.

Haven said the weekend’s results were a good example of a team firing on all cylinders.

“I was very impressed with our team’s balanced attack throughout the tournament. We got production from every player on the roster. Even when we made outs, we made productive outs,” he said. “In all but one game we had double digit hits. When you team that up with the excellent pitching performances we had from Maddy and Kylie all weekend, and the solid defense the team provided them, that adds up to a lot of games going your way.”