skip navigation

USA Softball 12A State Championship hosts PNW Force 12A Rich

By Staff, 07/03/24, 11:45AM PDT

Share

Another ring at stake for these amazing ladies

The Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Washington hosted the USA Softball 12A State Championships. PNW Force Rich 12A were poised to make a run at the title. They started the tournament off strong with 2 solid wins in bracket play on Friday and Saturday. Bright and early on Sunday morning at 8 am they lost a tough game to Acers Matlick to get sent into the loser’s bracket.

At noon, they played Flame in a tough game that saw them down 3-0 early. They clawed back to make it 3-2, then let in another run to make it 4-2, but then tied it up 4-4 in the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 5th, they lost the lead again, and went into the final inning needing 1 run to stay alive. Some clutch hitting and great baserunning saw them put two runs on the board to lead 6-5. Stellar defense and great pitching held on to win the elimination game and send them to the championship.

Immediately following that game, at 2 pm they squared off again against Acers Matlick, who had yet to lose in the tournament, and needed to be beat twice. In a highly entertaining game that saw a total of 29 hits and 20 runs, Force pulled away late in a back-and-forth contest to beat the Acers 12-8. Force Rich found themselves in a winner take all championship game, against an Acers team they were about to play for the 3rd time that day, and in their 4th game overall on Sunday.

At 4 pm, in the only game going on at the Regional Athletic Complex, a crowd formed as two incredible teams took the field for the 12A Championship. Force jumped out to an early lead scoring one run in each of the first two innings. They gave up one run in the 4th as the Acers closed the gap to 2-1. Force added an insurance run in the 5th and held them in the 6th to make the final inning very exciting. After a single then 2 outs, the Acers got a run across on a single to center field to close the gap to 3-2. With their last out, the Acers had an 8 pitch at bat that ended with a smoked line drive to third base that was caught for the final out. PNW Force Rich celebrated as they brought home some hardware for their USA Softball 12A State Championship.

Well done ladies!