Montesano does it again, beats Seton Catholic for district championship

The Montesano Bulldogs proved once again why late-May is their time of the year.

The Bulldogs performed in crunch time to earn a hard-fought 5-3 win over Seton Catholic in the 1A District 4 championship game on Saturday at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.

The Bulldogs (21-3 overall) and Cougars (18-5) were never separated by more than two runs, with both teams holding leads in the game.

Seton Catholic struck first with a solo home run off the bat of senior first baseman Ellie Forster with two outs in the top of the first.

But the Cougars’ lead was short-lived as Monte responded when left fielder Liv Robinson – on board with a leadoff single – beat the throw home on a bunt hit by first baseman Kylee Wisdom, who advanced to second on the throw home.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Jaelyn Butterfield slides in safely at home as Seton Catholic catcher Kingsley Williams defends during the Bulldogs’ 5-3 win in the 1A District 4 championship on Saturday in Centralia.

Monte’s small-ball style of offense continued to provide big results when third baseman Lex Stanfield laid down another bunt toward third, with pinch-runner Jaelyn Butterfield sliding home ahead of the throw as Monte took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

The Bulldogs would add to their lead when senior second baseman Alyssa Maldonado sent Seton Catholic pitcher Jocelyn Kender’s 1-0 pitcher over the center-field fence for a leadoff home run and a 3-1 advantage in the second inning.

“I just saw the pitch down the middle and I’m like, ‘I gotta hit it,’” Maldonado said. “I definitely felt it off the bat. It’s only my second home run and the first one wasn’t a no-doubter, but this one I definitely felt off the bat and was really excited. … It makes my confidence go way up. I have had struggles with hitting in the past and just hitting that for my team in an important game, it really really helped my confidence.”

PHOTO BY SHAWN DONNELLY Montesano infielder Alyssa Maldonado (7) heads home after hitting a home run during a 5-3 win over Seton Catholic in the 1A District 4 championship game on Saturday at Ft. Borst Park in Centralia.

But unlike its two previous district-tournament games, Montesano was unable to run away from Seton Catholic.

The Cougars responded when catcher Kingsley Williams singled to drive in Ellie Travalia to pull Seton Catholic to within one run at 3-2.

In the top of the fifth, the Cougars tied the game when Forster hit a deep fly ball that sailed directly over the left-field foul poll and was ruled a home run, tying the game at 3-3 with two innings left to play.

Monte wasted little time in responding when Robinson singled to lead off the bottom half of the frame and moved into scoring position with a steal of second base.

Catcher Ali Parkin then singled to left, allowing Robinson to beat the throw home as the Bulldogs regained the lead 4-3.

Always willing to utilize every facet of his bench, Monte head coach Pat Pace made the call for the speedy Butterfield to pinch run for Parkin, which turned out to be another move that paid huge dividends.

With prolific contact hitter Addi Kersker as the plate, Butterfield took off on a 1-0 count to steal third.

Three pitches later, Kerkser executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, allowing Butterfield to score on the throw to first and give Monte a bit of a cushion at 5-3.

As it turned out, the Bulldogs wouldn’t need it as Timmons was magnificent in the circle. The Bulldogs senior right-hander put up another impressive late-season performance, striking out eight consecutive Cougars after allowing the home run in the fifth to secure the Bulldogs’ second district title in a row.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano senior Riley Timmons struck out a school district-playoff record 20 batters in a 5-3 victory over Seton Catholic in the 1A District 4 championship game on Saturday in Montesano.

Timmons ended the game with 20 strikeouts – a new school district-playoff record – and allowed three earned runs on four hits with three walks in arguably the best performance of the four-year starter’s prep career.

Robinson, Parkin and senior right fielder Carsyn Wintrip had two hits apiece for Montesano, which now sets its sights on the 1A State Tournament, which begins on Thursday.

“Each district title feels just as good as the last and this one might might be a little more special since Riley struck out 20 today,” Montesano head coach Pat Pace said. “She was pretty dialed in today.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD The Montesano Bulldogs raise the 1A District 4 championship trophy after beating Seton Catholic 5-3 on Saturday in Centralia.

Pace added his team’s experience in playing close games against quality competition helped his players stay loose and able to execute.

“Maybe we were a little bit too loose today. The game just kind of seemed to flow for us and maybe sometimes it looked like we were going through the motions, but when we needed the runs, the girls went back to work, did a little short game, put the ball and play and sacrificed themselves to move the runners around and score a run,” he said. “That’s our game, that’s the way we do it. Those other games where we get the big hits and so forth, that’s awesome, but when it comes to getting the win in the big games, they know what to do.”

“When we were put in tough situations we really performed as a team,” Maldonado said. “We all work together. We know that our confidence on the line because if we win, our confidence just goes way up and yeah, we just we work for each other.”

As expected, the defending-champion Bulldogs were awarded with the state tournament’s No. 1 seed and will face the winner of No. 9 Klahowya versus No. 8 Royal in a quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Columbia Playfields in Richland.

Seton Catholic 101 010 0 – 3 4 0

Montesano 210 020 x – 5 8 0

WP: Timmons (7 IP, 3R, 3ER, 4H, 3BB, 20K). LP: Kender (6 IP, 5R, 5ER, 8H, 9K).

Leading hitters: Seton Catholic – Forster (2-3, 2 HR, 2R, 2RBI); Williams (2-3, RBI). Montesano – Robinson (2-3, 2R); Parkin (2-3, RBI); Wintrip (2-3); Maldonado (1-3, HR, R, RBI); Stanfield (1-3, RBI).

PHOTO BY SHAWN DONNELLY Montesano senior pitcher Riley Timmons (middle) receives the district-championship trophy from tournament director Matt Cooke after a 5-3 win over Seton Catholic on Saturday in Centralia.