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In Ukraine, New American Technology Won the Day. Until It Got Overwhelmed.
Author: David E. Sanger
Project Maven was meant to revolutionize modern warfare. But the conflict in Ukraine has underscored how difficult it is to get 21st-century data into 19th-century trenches.
Abortion Data Wars: States and Cities Debate How Much Information to Collect
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Some states with Republican-controlled legislatures want more data, while some controlled by Democrats want less, fearing it could be used to target patients or providers.

Washington State News

Pre-draft picture: Linebacker could be key draft target for Packers

Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie form clear 1-2 pairing right now Mike Spofford

"Pre-draft picture" is a position-by-position look at the Packers' roster heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. The series continues with the linebackers.

GREEN BAY - With the Packers' new base 4-3 defensive alignment requiring three off-ball linebackers, the position is squarely on the radar for a key draft addition, and perhaps multi

Phillies' pitching staff aims to keep rolling vs. Reds
(Photo credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports) The Philadelphia Phillies have won 15 of their first 23 games of the season for just the third time since 1995, and their starting pitching deserves much of the credit. The Phillies hope to get another strong outing when left-hander Cristopher Sanchez takes the mound against the host Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. Philadelphia opened the four-game series with a 7-0 victory on Mond

The Chronicle - Centralia

Prep softball: Two-out magic lifts Bearcats to statement win over T-Birds

Lilly Camp. Annika Hollingsworth. Ella Ferguson times two.

It has been a murderers row of pitchers that the W.F. West High School softball team has faced this spring. All three are Division I recruits and feature plenty of zip on their pitches.

“Seeing those girls before and seeing Ella all throwing fast helped a lot,” Bearcats starting pitcher Taylor Tobin said.

W.F. West has had a fair share of success against those throwers, but none more than Monday night against Ferguson.

Behind a 4-for-4 day from Staysha Fluetsch and a complete game shutout from Tobin, the Bearcats put out a statement 8-0 triumph over Tumwater in an Evergreen Conference showdown at Recreation Park.

The two rivals are now tied for first in the standings, but the T-Birds have the tiebreaker if needed based on a 7-6 win in the non-league game last week.

“Girls were just dialed in,” W.F. West head coach Kevin Zylstra said. “The confidence factor is huge. They knew they were hitting well in the cage and they knew they could hit her well, too.”

In the two games against Aberdeen, the Bearcats got runners on base via three walks versus Camp, but were left without a hit. Then in the non-league contest, they faced Hollingsworth and won 3-2 by notching eight hits.

When W.F. West went toe-to-toe with Ferguson a month ago, it registered seven hits to just one run.

Monday was a much different story.

All eight of the tallies came with two outs and the Bearcats finished with 11 total hits. Avalon Myers went 3-for-4 at the plate while Kenley Fragner and Tobin each had two hits out of the Nos. 8 and 9 holes in the lineup.

“We did a lot of hitting practices,” Tobin said.

Fluetsch lifted a three-run home run in the bottom of the third. The floodgates opened in the fourth that stayed alive on an outfield error by Tumwater. The Bearcats loaded the bases and two runs scored on wild pitches.

Myers ripped an RBI single and Fluetsch added another RBI base hit and the final run scored on another error.

“That’s pretty impressive,” Tobin said. “We were hitting off her and it was awesome.”

Tobin, a freshman, dazzled in the circle with seven strikeouts and four hits allowed. She has established herself as one of the top pitchers in the league.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning when the Thunderbirds got a baserunner in scoring position.

“I knew she had potential to be pretty good,” Zylstra. “She’s trusting me a lot more in how I call the pitches and she’s freed her mind. She is so poised for a young pitcher and I’m excited for her future.”

Tumwater head coach Ashley Lupinski was far from pleased with the approaches at the plate.

“Umpire wasn’t giving anything up and we continued to go up to the plate and swinging at the up ball,” Lupinski said. “Not our day. You got to tip your cap.”

With the district tournament approaching, the Bearcats still have five of their final six games as league matchups. They are a game up on Aberdeen and two games ahead of Centralia, who they meet on Wednesday in the Swamp Cup.

“They’re going to come out with nothing to lose,” Zylstra said. “We just have to reply.”

Tumwater faces Shelton on Wednesday in a game Lupinski hopes her group can get off the “rollercoaster” she feels they’ve been on all year.

“One day we’re great, the next we’re not,” Lupinski said. “Whether it is our mental approach (or) physical approach, consistency is key.”

Rainier drops two to Toutle Lake

Not much went right for the Rainier baseball team on Monday, as the Mountaineers were beaten by Toutle Lake 13-0 and 15-3 in a doubleheader sweep.

In the first game, Toutle Lake scored all 13 of its runs in the first four innings, while Jared Sprouffske collected the Mountaineers’ (7-10, 7-9 C2BL) lone hit.

The Rainier offense had some success early in Game 2, scoring twice in the first before Hunter Howell hit an RBI double in the third, but the Ducks again piled on early. Toutle Lake scored nine runs in the first three innings and added six in the fourth.

Rainier will wrap up its regular season with a two-game series against Napavine, which is set to begin at Rainier on Friday.

Timberwolves bested twice by Chinooks

The Morton-White Pass baseball team dropped a pair to Kalama on Monday, losing 15-2 and 10-0 in a C2BL doubleheader.

Kalama took a 3-0 lead in the first inning of Game 1, but the T-Wolves (4-12, 4-12 C2BL) were able to get on the board in the third.

Kalama quickly built back its lead and then some, scoring four in the fifth and eight in the seventh.

Keaton Thompson struck out seven in six innings on the mound, and he also went 3 for 3 at the plate. Brecken Pelletier also collected multiple hits, going 2 for 4 at the plate.

Game 2 was scoreless through two innings, but Kalama scored three in the third and added on in every inning after that. Kris Elliott notched two hits in three at-bats.

With the loss, the Timberwolves have been eliminated from postseason contention. They are two games back of Wahkiakum with two league games to play, but the Mules have the tiebreaker because they took both games against MWP in March.

The T-Wolves will start their final C2BL series of the season on Friday, when they host Toledo.

Tenino can't recover from slow start against Hoquiam

The Tenino softball team fell behind early and never recovered on Monday, as the Beavers fell to Hoquiam 18-1 in five.

The Grizzlies took control with four in the first and second, and they blew it open with a six spot in the third.

The Beavers (3-14, 0-7 1A Evergreen) were able to respond with a run in the first, but they weren’t able to plate another run.

Katen Burkhardt logged an RBI, while Sophia Hussey collected two hits and Chloe Grayless drilled a double.

Tenino will head to Hoquiam for a rematch on Wednesday.

Bearcats' doubles dominate in win over T-Birds

The W.F. West girls tennis won its ninth match in a row on Monday, defeating Tumwater 5-1.

W.F. West coach Megan Wellander made the switch at the No. 1 and 2 singles leading into the match, and it led to the best match of the day.

In the top singles spot, W.F. West’s Emma Hamilton and Tumwater’s Kendall Gjurasic not only went all three sets, but they went to a tiebreaker in the third set. Hamilton came out on top 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

“Those two are very even,” Wellander said. “Just a phenomenal match.”

Alayna Leal came away with the other singles win for the Bearcats, and they swept the doubles matches, losing just three sets in each of those wins.

“This was a really big win for the girls,” Wellander said. “I was excited to see the girls come to battle and win.”

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday, as W.F. West will head to Black Hills and Tumwater will head to Shelton.

Singles

First: Emma Hamilton (WFW) beat Kendall Gjurasic (TUM) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)

Second: Chloe Henderson (TUM) beat Viviana Ibanez (WFW) 6-2, 6-4

Third: Alayna Leal (WFW) beat Sarah Kim (TUM) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles

First: Katelyn Wood/Lilly Hueffed (WFW) beat Adela Schmiedeberg/Claire Buono (TUM) 6-2, 6-1

Second: Ema Weerasinghe/Ellie Mittge (WFW) beat Rosie Uhlmeyer/Ashlyn Spencer (TUM) 6-1, 6-2

Third: Emery Dalrymple/Manta Ceesay (WFW) beat Ellie Shoemaker/Shylee Chang (TUM) 6-1, 6-2

Wolves come up just short against Bobcats

The Black Hills softball team dropped a close one against Aberdeen on Monday, as the Wolves lost 4-0.

Ella Goheen went blow-for-blow with Grand Canyon commit Lily Camp, as both teams were held scoreless through six innings.

Camp helped herself at the plate in the seventh, however, launching a two-run home run to give Aberdeen the lead. The Bobcats added two insurance runs later in the inning, and the Wolves (4-7, 1-6 2A EvCo) were blanked in the bottom half.

Goheen finished the game with five walks and five strikeouts, she allowed four hits, and three of the four runs were charged as earned.

Camp struck out 16 Wolves, and Emma Arko, Madison Malone, and Kiley McMahon logged the only Black Hills hits.

Black Hills will welcome North Thurston for a non-league contest on Wednesday.

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