Centralia in pursuit of playoff spot with vital win

By The Chronicle staff

There is a case of déjà vu running around Fort Borst Park. For the second year in a row, the Tigers softball team is in a position to extend its season.

Behind a two-hit shutout from Hollynn Wakefield, Centralia defeated Rochester 4-2 at home Wednesday night to stay alive for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Evergreen Conference.
“I expect to play at the end of May,” Centralia head coach David Orr said. “Years and years ago, when I was at school, girls expected to win. It has been a long time since we have had this culture. We’re heading in the right direction.”

The Warriors are one league game away, taking on Black Hills on Thursday. A win would tie them with the Tigers at 5-7 in league play. If that happens, then Rochester and Centralia would battle it out Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Fort Borst Park for the right to play in the Class 2A District 4 tournament.

Wakefield bounced back from two poor starts, fighting around four walks and four errors from her defense to hold on for the win. She struck out two Rochester batters.

“When she gets nervous, she gets a little tight and (her pitches) seem a little high,” Orr said. “When she’s free and confident, that’s when.”

Lauren Wasson stayed hot at the plate, breaking a 1-1 tie with a solo home run in the bottom of the third for Centralia (10-9, 5-7 EvCo). Makenzie Erickson added an RBI single in the frame and Grace Schofield hit a run-scoring double for an insurance run in the fourth.

Erickson, Wakefield and McKenna Smith all had two hits in the bottom half for Centralia. Makayla Chavez ripped two doubles for the Tigers.

Rochester (8-12, 4-7) struck first on an RBI double by Layna Demers and scored in the sixth on a passed ball. He had the tying run at the plate in the same inning, but Wakefield induced a groundout.

The Warriors continued to go down in order in the seventh. Demers hit six in the circle.