4/27/26

(Chehalis, WA) The standings in the Evergreen 2A Conference looked very different coming into the week than they had looked for pretty much the entire season so far. Tumwater had done a great job to put themselves solidly in 3rd place with a chance to rise in the standings with games left against Aberdeen and WF West. For the WF West Bearcats, their six-game winning streak propelled them into first place in the league after a wild 15-8 win over Aberdeen last week, sliding the Bobcats down into second. Now it would be a rematch between Tumwater and WF West after the Bearcats junior pitcher Taylor Tobin threw a perfect game against the T-Birds just over a week ago in a 2-0 win.

WF West 5, Tumwater 3

Tumwater was not going to let Taylor Tobin get into a groove early this time and recorded their first baserunner on just the second batter of the game. Riley Smith drew a walk and moved up on a single by Chloe Johnson for Tumwater’s first hit of the day. Brielle Womach followed with a hot shot that got through the infield for an RBI single as Smith scored to make it 1-0. A dropped pop fly by Rayah Middleton didn’t hurt WF West too bad as she got the force out at third anyway for an important second out. A flyout to left would end the inning but Tumwater was on the board with a 1-0 lead.

Sarah Stevens got in some hot water in the bottom of the 1st with a couple of singles by Allie Smitherman and Gracie Elam. She would strikeout the other three batters she faced though to strand those early runners. Both Stevens and Tobin responded with 1-2-3 innings in the 2nd before Tumwater got to Tobin again in the 3rd. A single by Megan Barrett wasn’t too much stress but a couple of grounders by Riley Smith and Chloe Johnson moved her to third with two outs. Brielle Womach would not let the opportunity pass as she smacked another RBI single, this time with two outs to bring home Barrett and make it 2-0 T-Birds.

In the home half of the 3rd, the Bearcats got their bats to wake up and do some damage. Rayah Middleton’s leadoff infield single was erased when Avery Osborn hit into a fielder’s choice. Another infield single for Allie Smitherman put two on for Karlee Coleman and she got the Bearcats on the board with a base hit to score Osborn and make it 2-1. Sarah Stevens would get Gracie Elam to groundout to first to move the runners to second and third with two outs. Brooklyn Spencer then drew a walk to load the bases for Karly Rasmussen and a battle ensued. Rasmussen fouled off five pitches in her eight-pitch AB but that eighth pitch was worth it as she shot a grounder back up the middle and into center field. Smitherman and Coleman both scored easily on the fantastic at-bat by Rasmussen as the Bearcats took a 3-2 lead.

Taylor Tobin stranded the tying run at second in the 4th and Sarah Stevens looked to fly through the bottom of the 4th as she retired the first two batters she faced. Then two out magic occured for the Bearcats as Avery Osborn and Allie Smitherman both singled to put runners on second and third as Smitherman advanced on an error in the outfield. Karlee Coleman came to the plate with runners in scoring position again and again she came through. She slapped a line drive into right center for her second knock and this one plated a pair of insurance runs to make it 5-2 Bearcats.

The top of the 6th turned into a golden opportunity for the T-Birds after Sarah Stevens led off with a single. Cassie McCartney hit a grounder to short but the Bearcats attempt to cutdown the courtesy runner in Kiera Rich was dropped on the throw to second. Kendra Schiley laid down a bunt and Tobin would try to get Rich at third, but she beat it out to load the bases with nobody out. Chloe Foos did her job with a fly ball to center which was caught but also brought in a run to make it 5-3. Then Tobin faced the top of the order in Megan Barrett who hit a screaming line drive into center that was gloved by Smitherman for the second out. She completed the escape job with a pop out to short off the bat of Riley Smith and Tumwater could only manage a single run in their big opportunity and still trailed by two.

Stevens flew through the bottom of the 6th with no problems and it would be 3-4-5 in the Tumwater order in the 7th. Chloe Johnson began the inning but grounded out to Tobin for the first out. Brielle Womach sent a fly ball to center but Smitherman was there yet again for out number two. Sophie Skillman battled at the plate and popped up an 0-2 pitch into foul territory. Gracie Elam would make a nice lunging catch in front of the T-Bird dugout to put this one away. In a much different game than the first meeting, the back-and-forth contest when WF West’s way as they took down Tumwater, 5-3.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Karlee Coleman for WF West. The sophomore was strong defensively as always but came through with some big and timely hits. Coleman was 2-3 with three runs batted in and a run scored. She got the Bearcats on the board, scored the go-ahead run, and added what turned out to be two huge insurance runs with a two-out, two-run single in the 4th. Coleman stepped up at the right time to lead the Bearcat offensive charge.

WF West has now won seven in a row and sit at 13-2 overall and 9-1 in EvCo 2A play. The Bearcats will look to keep it rolling on Wednesday when they host Shelton at 6pm in a game you can see here on ESN. Tumwater falls to 8-6 overall and 5-5 in league play but remain solidly in third place in the league. The T-Birds will hope to bounce back on Wednesday when they host Centralia in the rubber game of the season series at 4:30pm.

Notable Performances

Tumwater

WF West

• Karlee Coleman- 2-3, 3 RBI, R
• Karly Rasmussen- 2-3, 2 RBI
• Taylor Tobin- 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show

Highlights

Womach Drives in Another

Rasmussen Wins 8-Pitch Battle

Coleman Adds Insurance

elisportsnetwork.com