Submitted photos – The Northwest Elite Softball 16Us.
The NorthWest Elite Softball 16Us will get a chance to play for the tournament championship at the NAFA Nationals in Newburg, Oregon, on Sunday.
The local team, which is made up of girls from several high schools around the county, came out swinging the bats this weekend, winning three of their four pool games and advancing to Sunday’s knockout rounds.
They also avenged their only tournament defeat with a 10-8 win over Pioneer Premium to close out pool play on Saturday.
As a team, the girls are batting a very impressive .470 with a .562 on-base percentage.
“It’s pretty incredible the way these girls are playing right now,” head coach Daniel Osborne said.
They opened tournament play with a 12-2 win over Liberty Fastpitch on Friday.
Kendall Kercher from South Fork got her tournament off to a flying start and finished 3-for-3 in the win, while teammates Abagail Gossi and Macie Wantt each was 2-for-2.
Ferndale’s Olivia Gossi got the win in the circle, giving up just two earned runs on three hits in a complete-game performance.
Later in the day, however, Northwest Elite fell to Pioneer Premium 12-5.
Aryanna Osborne of St. Bernard’s led the way at the plate in the loss, finishing 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Abagail Gossi was 2-for-2.
Aryanna Osborne also pitched a complete game for the local club, but the team defense struggled with seven errors in the loss.
The Northwest Elite girls continued tournament play with two more games on Saturday, defeating Charge Fastpitch 15-3, before getting their revenge on Pioneer Premium.
Several players stepped up at the plate in Saturday’s opener, as the team racked up 19 hits and 15 RBIs.
Aryanna Osborne, Wantt, Josie Provolt and Olivia Gossi each finished 3-for-3, while Kercher was 2-for-3.
Hoopa’s Bella Baldy pitched three strong innings for the win in the circle.
In their second game of the day, Sueveya Provolt, Want, Olivia Gossi and Lily D’usseau each finished 2-for-2, with Olivia Gossi providing the offensive highlight of the day with a grand slam that proved to be the difference in the game.
Olivia Gossi also got the win in the circle, her second of the tournament.
“The girls are just playing really hard and we’re gelling as a team,” Daniel Osborne said. “We’ve had some great pitching, some great offense and we’re just looking forward to tomorrow.”
The Elite will begin the double-elimination playoffs on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and if they win they will automatically advance to the championship game later in the afternoon.
If they lose their opener on Sunday, they will have a second shot at qualifying for the championship game.
The Northwest Elite 14Us were also in action at the same tournament and closed out 3-3.
