EUGENE – West Linn had a simple game plan to take down reigning champion Sherwood in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A softball final Saturday night at the University of Oregon.
The top-seeded Lions believed if they could hit the No. 2 Bowmen first, and hit them hard, that they could gain the mental edge and ride that momentum to a victory.
So when Sherwood made some early mistakes that opened the door, the Lions pounced. They scored five runs in the first two innings, paving the way to a 6-2 win and their first state championship.
“That was huge,” West Linn senior Mckayla Castro said. “I just knew that we needed to hit the pedal to the metal in the first inning, and that's what we did. I just think that was so important to just score first and put the pressure on them.”
The Lions (28-2) put two runners on base in the bottom of the first inning -- Sherwood misplayed a fly ball into a double by senior Kendall Atwood, and sophomore pitcher Presley Sarono-Ramos hit a batter – and senior Emily Sakys capitalized with a two-out, two-run single for a 2-0 lead.
Two Sherwood errors helped set the table in the second inning. Senior Vivienne McGraw drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-0, and Castro knocked a single to left field to make it 5-0.
The Lions, who also got a boost in the top of the second inning when Atwood threw out a runner at the plate from center field, were overflowing with momentum.
“All week, and all season, we just knew if we ever ended up in this moment, it was just about our energy,” Sakys said. “We have so much energy. As soon as we get out of our heads, nobody can stop us.”
Sarono-Ramos, who gave up six hits, struck out nine and walked two, lamented her team's slow start.
“If we had no errors, we would've been fine,” she said. “I pitched an OK game. It wasn't my best. The first two innings were a little nerve-racking for me. It kind of did take me a while. I just needed to take it pitch by pitch. I should have done that in the first inning, and I didn't.”
The expectations of defending their state title affected the Bowmen (27-4), according to Sarono-Ramos.
“I think it was harder for us to win again,” she said. “West Linn had an amazing game. They showed up.”
The Lions made the early lead stand up as their rotating, three-headed pitching staff – junior starter Avery Wolf, junior Meadow Sanborn and freshman Emily Rucker – held Sherwood in check. The three combined on a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts, surviving seven walks.
Sarono-Ramos got Sherwood on the board with a two-run blast to center field in the sixth inning, cutting the lead to 5-2. But West Linn hiked the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Atwood.
Wolf retired the Bowmen in the seventh inning, and the Lions, making their first-ever appearance in the state championship game, celebrated their title. The win came after West Linn's baseball team took the 6A title Saturday afternoon, making West Linn the first 6A school to win both titles in the same year since Jesuit in 2016.
Castro said the state-championship run started with the girls basketball team this year and continued with the baseball team.
“We were not satisfied with second place,” she said. “I think that's what really pushed us today.”
The Lions got their payback against the Bowmen, who defeated them 3-1 in the quarterfinals last year and 5-4 in a nonleague game at Sherwood this season. After that loss, West Linn finished the season with 20 consecutive wins.
“The first time we played them, we were so uptight,” Sakys said. “We'd lost to them before, and we were just all in our heads and stuff. We just knew both of these teams are so physically good, and it was just going to take whoever was better mentally prepared. And we came through.”
The game marked the end of the line for a West Linn senior class that features six college-bound players.
“We've all played together since we were in 10U, and I think we all just knew that we played so well together,” Castro said. “Every year we just grew a little bit more, and this year we really solidified as a team, just playing as one.”
It also was a fitting sendoff for West Linn coach Gina Garvey, who is stepping down to move back to her home state of Arizona. Garvey went 95-47 in five seasons with the Lions, including 74-14 in the last three years.
“I knew at the beginning of the season this would be my last season, and I'm just glad it was with these girls,” Garvey said. “They are phenomenal. I knew from when they were freshmen that they were going to win it all at some point, and we're here.”
Castro said the Lions “left it all on the field” for Garvey.
“I know that she's so proud of us,” Castro said. “She's done so much to help us mentally.”
Sakys said of Garvey: “Honestly, it's been the best four years with her. She supported us every step of the way. As she's said, she's moving on with us, too.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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