Both the Pe Ell/Willapa Valley Titans and the Rainier Mountaineers clinched spots in the state tournament on Saturday, winning their respective consolation semifinals before meeting in the 2B District 4 Tournament Third-Place Game at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
After scoring 24 runs in the morning win over Forks, the PWV offense kept rolling against Rainier in a 15-5 victory.
“Pretty happy that they could turn around, show up early in the morning, hit the ball, and execute what they needed to,” PWV coach Eric Hopfer said. “What more do you ask for?”
Lauren Matlock had a day to remember at the plate, hitting four runs across the two games to bring her weekend total to six. In PWV’s three wins this weekend, she drove in 12 runs.
“She was just finding good solid contact,” Hopfer said. “She had a little bit of a slower period there, and she’s back. She’s doing really good right now.”
The rest of the Titans had no issue clearing the fences. Sophia Milanowski hit three home runs across the two Saturday games, Jillian Hodel hit two, and Tylar Keeton also cleared the fence.
Rylin Channell drove in six runs in the win over Forks and drove in another pair against Rainier, and Izzy Milanowski collected six hits, including three doubles, on the day.
Hopfer said that he and his staff mixed up the lineup a bit heading into the second day, putting freshman Layla Andrews, who tallied seven hits and drove in three runs on Saturday, and Izzy Milanowski in the three- and four-spot in the lineup.
He also put eighth-grader Jersey Maneman in at second, and she drove in a run in the win over Forks.
“They came in and did really good for us,” Hopfer said. “They’ve been hitting really well.”
Rainier did not have as much success offensively on Saturday, but they did enough in the morning to upset Adna 7-6.
The Mountaineers trailed 3-1 going into the fifth, where they scored six runs to take a 7-3 lead. Adna responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, but Elaina Henry shut down the Pirates in the final two frames to seal the win.
“She was just hitting her spots,” Qualls said. “And I think it really helped her confidence that we were hitting as well … She does really well when she knows she’s supported. The defense was on point, and we were hitting, so I think she felt really confident about it.”
With the win, Rainier clinched its spot at state for the first time since 2022, and they did it without having to worry about playing in the fifth-place game.
In the process, the Mountaineers picked up their first win over Adna since at least 2018, according to MaxPreps.
“You wish that that’s something you can do,” Qualls said. “You know the opponent, and you’re intimidated by them. But at the same time, everybody always wants to win. So to be able to punch that ticket and to be able to enjoy the second game without all the pressure … It was absolutely ideal.”
Qualls will now make the trip to Yakima as Rainier’s coach for the first time since she took over in 2023. Qualls’ daughter, former Rainier standout Brooklynn Swenson, was a freshman on the 2022 team that made state, and Qualls made the trip as the parent.
Now, Swenson is an assistant coach with the Mountaineers, and she’ll join the team on the trip east.
“That’s pretty awesome,” Qualls said with a beaming smile. “I'm excited …These kids, you could just tell, there were instant tears of happiness. I’m just happy for them. They really deserve it.”
Both Rainier (13-10) and PWV (19-6) will learn their state seeding on Sunday, when the WIAA releases the state tournament bracket, and they will begin play at either 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. on Friday at the Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima.
“We’re ready for it,” Hopfer said.
