HS Fastpitch: WF West Survives Shelton's Upset Bid

4/29/26

(Chehalis, WA) While they can’t meet in their respective district tournaments, the Shelton Highclimbers and WF West Bearcats both had the postseason on their mind when they took the field against one another for the final time this season on Wednesday. Shelton has to finish in the top four of the Evergreen 2A Conference to qualify for the District 4 3A tournament since they are a 3A school playing in a 2A league. They entered Wednesday in fourth place but a win over the Bearcats would put them on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth. For WF West, a one-game lead over Aberdeen really means everything comes down to their showdown with the Bobcats next week, but a slip up could end up sending them below the Bobcats before that showdown.

WF West 4, Shelton 3

Shelton would pick up some steam right out of the gate as Abby Fauula singled to begin the game. An error moved her to third as Cassandra Tyler reached second with nobody out. Taylor Tobin then settled down and struck out Hailey Schuffenhauer and Riley Rowland while keeping the runners put. A throw by Kenley Fragner down to third tried to erase Fauula, but the throw got into left field. That allowed Fauula to score to give Shelton an early 1-0 lead.

WF West mounted their own threat in the home half of the 1st after Avery Osborn led off with a single. Both Allie Smitherman and Karlee Coleman hit the ball hard, but both were retired on a couple of catches by Emi McFarland in center. Gracie Elam looked to extend the inning with a base hit to right but Osborn was thrown out at third on a great throw by right fielder Liv Rasmussen. The outfield assist erased the WF West threat and kept the Highclimbers in front after one, 1-0.

Taylor Tobin would record the first nine outs of her day all via the strikeout as she stranded two runners in the 3rd with the score still 1-0. Jonni Gouley was living in the strike zone as well and looked like she would cruise through the 3rd for another 1-2-3 inning after retiring the first two batters she faced. Avery Osborn would extend the inning with her second hit of the game. Allie Smitherman followed with her own single to left, but the ball was booted which allowed Osborn to move to third and Smitherman to move to second. A wild pitch made that error hurt as Osborn came home to score to even things up at 1-1.

The score remained 1-1 into the top of the 6th where Shelton set themselves up with a golden opportunity. Leading off the inning, Hailey Schuffenhauer laced a triple to left to put the go-ahead run at third with nobody out. Taylor Tobin continued to be an escape artist as she had a quick meeting with her infield and manage Kevin Zylstra. Tobin responded by getting Riley Rowland to pop out to Francesca Remund at first before striking out Jonni Gouley for a big second out. The escape was complete as Emi McFarland sent a fly ball to center that was handled by Allie Smitherman which helped the Bearcats strand the triple and keep the score tied.

In the bottom of the 6th, the Bearcats carried over that momentum to the plate. A bunt single by Brooklyn Spencer put a runner on with one out for Rayah Middleton. She would single as well and runners ended up at second and third via a couple of stolen bases. Kenley Fragner would deal the big shot with a base hit to score a run and the ball was thrown around by Shelton for an error which allowed Middleton to score behind Spencer to make it 3-1. Two batters later, Taylor Tobin added an insurance run with a two-out RBI single to make it 4-1 WF West going into the 7th.

Shelton wouldn’t go down on Wednesday without a fight. With the bottom of the order due up, the Highclimbers rallied as the inning started with back-to-back singles by Liv Rasmussen and Kaylee Rix. Tobin would then record her 12th strikeout for the first out before the lineup card turned over. Abby Fauula hit a pop up just behind the pitcher’s circle. It dropped and had so much spin Rayah Middleton had to barehand it but had no play as a run scored to make it 4-2. With the tying run on first, Fauula stole second but remained there on an RBI groundout by Cassandra Tyler. WF West elected to intentionally walk Hailey Schuffenhauer to put the go-ahead run on first with two outs and the tying run at second. A soft line drive by Riley Rowland would just be gloved by Remund at first to put this one away. The Wednesday night thriller was complete as WF West just hung on against a very feisty Shelton team, 4-3.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game was Taylor Tobin for WF West. She had an argument for the award both at the plate and in the circle but combined for an incredible performance. Tobin went 2-3 at the dish with a big insurance RBI single in the 6th to give herself some breathing room. In the circle, Tobin went seven innings and allowed three runs (two earned runs) on seven hits with two walks and 12 strikeouts. It was an all-around performance for the Bearcat junior as she continues to lead the Bearcats atop the EvCo 2A.

WF West runs their winning streak to eight in a row to move to 14-2 overall and 9-1 in league play. They will continue their league title quest on Friday when they visit Black Hills at 4:30pm. Shelton falls to 8-8 on the season and 4-7 in Evergreen 2A play. The Highclimbers will try to end their five-game skid on Friday when they host Centralia at 4:30pm.