First- and second-team selections for The Olympian’s 2022 All-Area softball team.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Aly Waltermeyer, Tumwater, shortstop, sr. — Waltermeyer spent just one season at Tumwater after transferring from Olympia, but made it a good one, earning first team All-2A Evergreen Conference honors and leading the Thunderbirds to their first state championship in sixteen years with her bat and glove. She hit .549, scored 32 runs and drove in 21. At the state 2A tournament, she doubled to start two games and homered to start two others. Her fielding percentage of .984 came as she also covered a wide range at shortstop. “Aly set the tone for us each game,” said coach Ashley Andrews of the University of the Pacific-bound Waltermeyer.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Ashley Andrews, Tumwater — Andrews played on Tumwater’s last state championship team, in 3A in 2006, then coached the T-Birds to this season’s 2A title with a 22-2 overall record that included three victories in five tries over arch-rival W.F. West, which had held an edge in years past. She has a 71-19 record in five years as Tumwater’s coach, after a four-year career as a starting shortstop or catcher at Tennessee and a brief assistant coaching stint at Washington.

FIRST TEAM

Pitchers

Kamy Dacus, W.F. West, sr. — The Olympian’s All-Area player of the year in 2021, Dacus was still among the best local players in ’22, earning 2A EvCo most valuable player honors after again pitching nearly every inning for the state participant Bearcats and posting a 21-5 record with a 2.09 earned run average. She struck out 215 batters in 164 innings and walked just 30. At the plate, she hit .435 with six homers and 35 runs batted in. “Kamy’s a workhorse on the mound and a player who loves to hit,” said W.F West coach Caty Lieseke. “She kept us in every game on the mound.”

Ella Ferguson, Tumwater, fr. — Ferguson posted an 18-2 record with both losses coming to powerhouse W.F. West, a team she became the first pitcher to beat three times in a season in more than a decade. She had a 1.30 ERA and struck out 184 batters in 128 innings. She pitched every game of the postseason, beating the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeded teams as Tumwater won the 2A state tournament. “Not only does she throw 60 miles per hour, but she competes unlike any other pitcher in the area,” said Andrews. “She was unreal as a freshman.”

Jasmyn Polanco, Timberline, soph. — As Polanco went, so went the Blazers, as she was Timberline’s most effective and durable pitcher, often throwing well past 100 pitches in games on her way to 188 strikeouts in 112 1/3 innings pitched. Timberline rallied late in the season to make the state tournament after Polanco returned from a concussion. She hit .314 with four home runs and 16 RBI. “Jasmyn kept us in games with her pitching and her bat,” said her coach and mom Lynsi Polanco.

Sami Potvin, Olympia, soph. — The 4A SPSL South Pitcher of the Year, Potvin was 13-7 with a 2.21 ERA against elite competition. She struck out 229 in 138 innings and walked only 21. She batted .361 with five home runs and 32 RBI, also scoring 20 runs. “She puts the ball wherever in the zone we need her to: north, south, east, west,” said Bears coach Jason Stensby earlier this season. “She has good movement for such a young age.”

Catcher

Kendall Lawson, Yelm, sr. — Lawson led the Tornados in hitting at .463, drove in 22 runs and scored 21 on her way to 3A All-South Sound Conference honors. “Kendall does a phenomenal job behind the plate,” Coach Lindsay Walton said earlier in the season. “At bat, she puts the ball in play consistently.”

Tori Trotter, Timberline, jr. — A returning first-team selection, Trotter hit .554 batting average, with a .691 on-base percentage and 1.077 slugging percentage. She slammed five home runs, driving in 32 runs and scoring 34. Though she also played some in the outfield, Trotter proved effective behind the plate at 3A state, throwing out three of five runners who attempted to steal.

Infield

Ashlyn Aven, Yelm, sr. — Aven crushed the ball for the Tornados on her way to first team all-3A SSC honors, hitting 11 home runs and driving in 47 to go with 39 runs scored. Bound for Linfield University, Aven drew high praise from her teammates. Said second team All-Area choice and Whitworth University commit Molley Embrey, “Ashlyn’s bat is insane. We all strive to be like her.”

Savannah Hawkins, W.F. West, jr. — Hawkins was a clear and present danger with a bat in her hands, crushing 12 home runs and driving in 39 runs. She hit .494 with a .587 OBP and .988 slugging. She also scored 37 runs and struck out only seven times in 104 plate appearances. “Savannah plays her best in big games,” said Lieseke. “She had five home runs and 11 RBIs at state. She truly studies other pitchers.”

Jaylene Maniquez, Tumwater, jr. — Manriquez provided the power for 2A champion Tumwater, belting 10 home runs, including a walkoff game-winner against Lynden in the state tournament, and driving in 34 runs. She batted .383 with an .889 slugging percentage in her second season at Tumwater after transferring from Gahr High School in Southern California. “Jaylene is the epitome of cool, calm and collected,” Andrews said of the Edmonds Community College-bound second baseman. “She consistently came up with runners on and got the job done.”

Kailei Thompson, Yelm, jr. — A first-team all-3A SSC pick, Thompson, a lefty slap hitter, hit .386, driving in 24 runs and scoring 35.

Layna Demers, Rochester, fr. — Demers made a splashy high school debut, batting .364, leading the Warriors in homers with six and driving in 27 runs. Also a pitcher, she had a 2.50 earned run average, striking out more than a batter per inning. “Layna always competes and she’s hungry for success,” said coach Joni Lancaster. “We threw her in as a freshman in a very tough league into some sticky situations and she fought us out of them.”

Outfield

Abby Severse, Tenino, sr. — A returning All-Area choice, Severse hit .359 with seven stolen bases. Severse will play at Clark College next season.

Alyssa Hoff, Olympia, jr. — Hoff was first team all-4A SPSL South after hitting .344 and playing errorless ball in the field.

Ava Baustista, Olympia, fr. — Also the Bears’ second pitcher, Bautista stepped in to grab a major role as a freshman, leading the Bears with a .380 batting average and earning first team All-4A SPSL. She hit four home runs, drove in 17 runs and scored 19. “She’s got great hands. She identifies the pitches she wants to hit and goes right after them,” Stensby said.

Utility

Bailey Elwell, Rainier, sr. — The Class 2B Central League co-MVP Elwell pitched most of the time for Rainier, striking out 209 against just 47 walks, but made her biggest mark at the plate, as she hit .547 with four home runs, drove in 30 runs and scored 35.

Lakota Escott, Rochester, sr. — The George Fox commit was first team All-2A EvCo after hitting .440 with 24 RBI. She also pitched, striking out 78 in 71 2/3 innings. “Lakota’s IQ for the game is really high,” said Lancaster. “She was consistent for us at the plate and on the mound all season.”

Brooklyn Crass, Olympia, fr. — Crass hit .343 in the tough 4A SPSL South during her first high school season, including four home runs and 20 RBI. Was a first team all-league choice.

SECOND TEAM

Pitchers: Avery Anderson, North Thurston, jr. Emily Baxter, Tenino, sr.,

Savannah Johnson, Capital, sr., Zoe Theophilus, Black Hills, jr.; Vivian Watts, Yelm, sr.

Catchers: Courtney Backman, Tenino, sr., Jamie Haase, Tumwater, Fr., Laila Smith, Olympia, jr., Danyka Squire, Shelton, so.

Infielders: Ally Baumgart, Shelton, jr., Molly Embrey, Yelm, sr.; Ella Orr, Centralia, jr., Gracie Ray, Olympia, sr.,

Outfielders: Georgiana Beers, Capital, jr., Elissa Dewees, Yelm, so. Ally McCrary, North Thurston, sr., Avaleis Wilson, Timberline, jr.,

Utility: McKenzie Camus, Timberline, sr.; Jaylen Latchaw, Tumwater, sr.

This story was originally published June 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.