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The Centralia girls golf team ended its regular season with a victory on Wednesday, as the Tigers topped Rochester 75-53 at Riverside.

The 75 points is the best mark of the season for Centralia, and it’s also the first time that all five Tigers tallied 10 or more points.

Emily Wilkerson led the way with 20, while Tess McMurry scored 18 and Lily Ferch added 16. Lyla Aumiller collected 11, and Corin Meek rounded out the Centralia scorecard with 10.

Izzy Masias led the Warriors with 18 points, while Audrey Williams wasn’t far behind with 16. Mallory Gilbert logged a dozen, and Casey Munsell and Addie Nef combined for seven.

The Tigers and Warriors will take part in the league meet at Riverside on Monday, as the District 4 tournament is set for May 13 and 14 at Three Rivers in Kelso.

On Monday, the 13th, the field will be whittled down to a top 40, which will compete for state spots on Tuesday the 14th.

The Vikings picked a bad time to play sloppy defense as four errors doomed them in a 10-0, six-inning setback on Wednesday night in a CVL contest.

It will put Mossyrock (7-6) as the likely two seed in the Class 1B District 4 tournament that kicks off on Monday. Lake Quinault is the potential opponent while Oakville will likely face Naselle in the other semifinal.

Three of the Vikings errors occurred in the Comets’ four-run bottom of the first, two of them correlating in runs. Naselle added two runs in the third and fifth frames and one run in the fourth and sixth innings to finish the run-rule win.

Of the six runs Easton Kolb allowed on the mound for Mossyrock, only one was earned. He also ripped a double at the plate for one of two hits for its offense.

The Tumwater softball team was no stranger to the long ball on Wednesday, as the Thunderbirds hit four home runs in an 8-0 victory at Rochester.

Sarah Stevens hit two, while Megan Barrett and Jamie Haase also went yard in the victory. 

The trio combined for seven of the eight Tumwater RBIs, as Stevens and Haase each brought home three and Barrett’s homer was a solo shot.

Ella Ferguson brought home the other Tumwater (14-4, 9-1 2A EvCo) run, and she was also stellar in the circle. She allowed just two hits in a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 in the process.

Mckenna Vassar collected both hits for the Warriors, going 2 for 3 at the plate.

With the win, Tumwater goes up a half game on W.F. West at the top of the league standings, while Rochester is now tied with Centralia for the district pigtail spot.

Rochester will head to Recreation Park to face W.F. West on Friday, while Tumwater will host Centralia on Monday.

As Megan Wellander pondered on whether to take the leap or not, one continuous thought kept coming back.

If there was someone to take over for a legend and lead the W.F. West High School girls tennis team, it would be her.

“I know this is what he would have wanted,” Wellander said. “I have the unique ability to carry him on. He was the person who taught me how to play tennis; my values and his values are the same.”

In what has been a season still filled with sadness over the passing of longtime coach Jack State, the Bearcats rallied and finished off a perfect 10-0 dual record against Evergreen Conference foes with a 4-2 victory over Centralia on Wednesday night in Centralia.

Wellander herself didn’t know what to expect when she took over. And now, she’s the owner of an unblemished regular season in her first year at the helm.

“Truly, the girls have made this season fun,” Wellander said. “It was a successful season.”

State died in January at the age of 80. He just finished his 50th season coaching the boys team and was ready to embark on his 48th year coaching girls.

Junior Lilly Hueffed admitted his passing still hasn’t fully sunk in yet.

“I was glad I got to be one of his players for two years,” she added. “It was a bit of a surprise.”

Wellander, a graduate of W.F. West, who played college tennis at George Fox University, was assisting State for a month of the boys season and was going to full-time assist him this spring.

A couple weeks after his death and in conversations with administration, she was tabbed as the new head coach. At the Bearcats’ first team meeting, players thought Wellander was one of them.

“Yeah, no, I’m a coach,” Wellander recalled.

She laid out the expectations and goals for W.F. West. She implemented fitness training, having her girls run laps before every meet.

That was one of many new things Wellander did compared to State.

“I want you to be in shape,” she said. “As the season has gone on, they’re like ‘We get it.’”

Eventually, a junior-heavy group of Bearcats snared the trust of their new coach and vice versa. Add in the relatability factor and it has turned into a harmonious team.

“She really wants to win, she’s competitive and she’s good at bringing that energy,” Hueffed said. “She’s good at honoring State and carrying on what he all hoped for us to achieve, but pushes us to work as hard as we can.”

Hueffed and Katelyn Wood continued their winning ways at No. 1 doubles, dispatching Sophia Wiley and Aydan Butler 6-4, 6-0.

The Bearcats swept the three doubles matches and Alyana Leal, up to No. 2 singles for the day, won a thriller over Esther Hopkins 6-1, 7-5.

“We wanted to work really hard this season,” Hueffed said. “I remember, as a freshman, State saying we have a lot of potential. I wasn’t expecting to be first in the league, but I knew we had a really good chance.”

Centralia’s Maya Lackie claimed a thriller at No. 1 singles, defeating Emma Hamilton 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-1. It was a night-and-day difference after both girls didn’t give an inch in the opening set tiebreaker.

Lackie dominated the final two sets and never looked back. The southpaw overcame some unforced errors at times to deliver plenty of winners and broke Hamilton’s serve multiple times. 

“She got a little focused,” Tigers head coach Scott Phillips said. “One point at a time, just grind it out. That’s all you can do.”

Eliyah Rooklidge claimed a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles for Centralia (4-4-1 EvCo).

Monday kicks off the sub-district tournament that will be held at Black Hills and Tumwater over the course of three days. Districts are the following week in Vancouver.

For W.F. West, the train momentum hasn’t slowed down yet and no one is expecting it to now.

“We just need to stay focused and continue to be aggressive,” Wellander said. “If (State) was here, he'd be proud of the girls and proud of me.”

Singles

First: Maya Lackie (Centralia) def. Emma Hamilton 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-1

Second: Alyana Leal (W.F. West) def. Esther Hopkins 6-1, 7-5

Third: Eliyah Rooklidge (Centralia) def. Jaelynn Fuentes 6-2, 6-3

Doubles

First: Katelyn Wood/Lilly Hueffed (W.F. West) def. Sophia Wiley/Aydan Butler 6-4, 6-0

Second: Ema Weerasinghe/Ellie Mittge (W.F. West) def. Brook Frakes/Neela Haywood 6-0, 6-0

Third: Emery Dalrymple/Manta Ceesay (W.F. West) def. Suki Bringman/Saryn Pelesky 6-3, 6-3

The Centralia softball team pulled away late on Wednesday against Black Hills, turning a one-run game into a dominant 15-1 victory with 13 runs in the final three innings.

Lauren Wasson gave the Tigers (9-7, 4-5 2A EvCo) an early jolt with a solo home run in the top of the first, and Payton Baumel made it 2-0 with an RBI single later in the inning.

Ella Goheen settled into the game in the circle, and Hollynn Wakefield kept the Wolves (5-10, 1-8 2A EvCo) scoreless until they scored a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth.

Centralia led just 2-1 going into the fifth, but the bats exploded from there. The Tigers scored four in both the fifth and sixth innings and they added five more in the seventh, including Wasson’s second home run of the day, a three-run shot to center.

Wakefield finished off her stellar pitching performance in the bottom half. She finished with 10 strikeouts while allowing just four hits and a run.

Baumel finished with three hits and four runs batted in, and Chloe Bonomi tallied two hits and four RBIs of her own.

Brooklyn Sprague went 3 for 5 with an RBI and scored three runs, and Makenzie Erickson collected two hits at the plate, including a triple.

At 4-5 in league play, the Tigers are tied with Rochester for the fourth and final playoff spot in the EvCo with three league games to play.

They’ll have their rematch with the Warriors on Wednesday, May 8, but before then, they’ll host Aberdeen on Friday and head to Tumwater on Monday.

Black Hills will head to Shelton on Friday.

Lorelei Smaciarz’s walk-off double was the final play of a wild back-and-forth contest on Wednesday, one where Pe Ell-Willapa Valley left with an 8-7 win over Toledo.

The Riverhawks (12-3, 5-2 C2BL) opened the scoring in the top of the first on a home run from Kailea Lairson, but PWV (12-4, 4-1 P2BL) answered with two in the bottom half.

Toledo punched right back with three in the second, and an RBI single from Mialeigh Jurica in the fourth made it 5-2.

The Titans again responded immediately, first scoring twice on a single from Jillian Hodel before tying the game on a single from Keeton. The go-ahead run scored on an error and Sophia Milanowski made it 7-5 with another RBI knock.

Toledo tied the game with two in the sixth, but Smaciarz had the final say in the seventh.

Both the Titans and Riverhawks are currently in second place in their respective league standings.

PWV will host Friday Harbor at Tumwater on Friday in a non-league affair, while Toledo will return to C2BL play at Winlock on Thursday.

Behind four runs in the bottom of the third, Pe Ell/Willapa Valley secured win No. 15 on the year with a 5-1 verdict over Onalaska at home on Wednesday night in a matchup of Class 2B programs.

PWV (15-4) will continue its season in the 2B District 4 tournament when it faces Wahkiakum on Friday 10 a.m. in Toutle Lake. Winner of that contest will face the Ducks at 1 p.m. in a quarterfinal.

Three straight RBI base hits from Lucas Lusk, Connor Keeton and Liam Smaciarz ballooned the lead to 4-0 and Smaciarz scored on a passed ball to cap the scoring. Max Jarvis, Lusk and Aiden Young combined to strike out 13 Onalaska batters.

The Loggers (0-21) scored in the fourth on an infield error after Broden Vickers led off the inning with a single.