Addison Jay delivers go-ahead double in sixth inning; Mt. Spokane edges Garfield in 3A quarterfinal | State softball
May 22-This is the fourth straight season Mt. Spokane has reached the State 3A fastpitch softball tournament. While the Wildcats have returned with two trophies in their past three trips, one senses they might feel like they've left something on the table each time.
If it wasn't for one clutch hit on Friday - a rarity in the game for either side, really - the Wildcats might have been wondering "What if?" again.
Good thing, then, Addison Jay came up when it mattered most.
With two down and two on in the sixth inning - and first base open - Jay delivered a two-run double to cap a three-run rally, and the second-seeded Wildcats escaped their quarterfinal matchup against seventh-seeded Garfield with a 5-3 win at Regional Sports Complex in Lacey, surviving to fight another day.
"In that spot, there's nobody else you want up to bat right there," Mt. Spokane coach Carl Adams said. "She's gonna find a way to get it done, and she's just mentally tough and just keeps trying, and then she got it done."
After quarterfinal losses in 2023 and '24, Mt. Spokane will play on Saturday with state title hopes still alive. The Wildcats face sixth-seeded Stanwood in a semifinal at 10 a.m., with the elusive championship game at 2:30 p.m."It's a good feeling, honestly," Adams said. "You know - go home, get some rest, get a good meal in."
For Jay - at or near the top of every offensive category in the Greater Spokane League this season - it was her only hit in four trips in the quarterfinal. She had struck out twice and reached on a fielder's choice that forced a runner at home in the second inning - when the Cats left the bases loaded.
"This wasn't the game I had planned at the plate in my mind," Jay said. "I was struggling at the plate, I feel like, but my teammates in the dugout really gave me that faith to do what I did, and honestly, all goes to them. They really helped me out in that at-bat, and they all trusted me, and I knew I had a team behind me that I could go do it for."
Mt. Spokane had 10 hits and three walks but stranded eight and made three outs on the base paths.
"I mean, we had some chance to really kind of break it open. We just, we just didn't, you know?" Adams said. "And that's just the way this game goes. Credit to (Garfield), they pitched it well. The shortstop's incredible. She made great plays defensively. But we just kind of found a way to break through."In the circle Jay was sublime yet again, striking out 13 with no walks in a complete game.
"It was a grind, but I love it," Jay said of the pitching effort. "I love grinding, and I love doing it for my teammates, and everyone behind me. It goes to them, and they make me want to work even harder, whether it's ugly, pretty, whatever."
The Wildcats (24-1) haven't been in many close games this year, outscoring their opponents 270-23 through the district tournament. But Friday's quarterfinal was tense - the teams were never separated by more than one run until Jay's double.
But Adams and Jay said there was no panic.
"I believe in our kids, and they believe in each other, and long as you stay there, we always got a chance," Adams said.
"We all have trust in each other, and that's huge," Jay said. "The trust that I have in those girls and the trust they have in me - nothing else compares."
In their opener on Friday, Emme Bond went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, three runs and two stolen bases and the Wildcats defeated 18th-seeded Southridge (11-16) 9-2, avoiding the sting of last year's first-round loss.
They set the tone against their District 6 rival with five runs in the first inning.
Jay left after five no-hit innings leading 9-0. She struck out eight and walked one before ceding to a reliever for the last two innings. Makenzie Morris hit a home run for Mt. Spokane.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.