YHS softball celebrates five seniors, falls to old SSC rival

Yelm and Peninsula high school softball teams revisited their old South Sound Conference rivalry on Friday, April 18, with emotions riding high for five Tornados athletes set to celebrate senior night after the contest.
In the exciting matchup under clear blue skies, the Tornados and Seahawks put on quite a show. Despite home runs from seniors Austin Hitchner and Kylie Minker, and quality at-bats from senior Caylee Roberts, Peninsula got the last laugh as the 3A squad was victorious over the Tornados, 7-6, in extra innings.

After Peninsula jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning, Yelm did everything they could to tie the ball game up — including a two-run blast from the infielder Hitchner and a solo shot from the pitcher Minker — but ultimately the Seahawks prevailed following just one extra inning.

“You always want to win on your senior night. It was an exciting game. Extra innings are always fun. We didn’t come out on top, though. It was a hard decision whether or not to have Austin (Hitchner) bunt in the eighth inning. She hit the ball well previously, so I had to go with hoping she was getting a base hit,” Yelm’s head coach Lindsay Walton said. “It is what it is, and it’s always good to have those close games. Hopefully, the third time we get into a situation where we have extra innings, we’ll come out on top. Hopefully the third time will be the charm.”

Despite the loss, Walton was proud of the production from all five of her seniors in the contest. In addition to offensive production from Hitchner, Minker and Roberts, senior Jennie Hendrickson also collected an RBI — while senior catcher Layah Hicks had strong production behind the plate throughout the contest against Peninsula.

“It was great to see the girls come together and rally back, because we were down late in the game. I’m glad we were able to come back and make it a game,” Walton said. “Five seniors is a lot, and it’s pretty important positions we’re losing. Thankfully, we still have half of our season ahead of us, and we’re not saying goodbye right now. It was fun to see them be successful on their senior night.”

Walton spoke highly of the five seniors of the Tornados roster.

“These seniors are very passionate about what they do. They love this game, they love this team, and they want to see everybody have success. Obviously, in your senior year, you want to go as far as you can, and this group of seniors are a hardworking group of individuals with very positive attitudes,” Walton said. “Their teammates look up to them, and it says a lot about who you are as a person when your teammates look up to you to be a leader. I think they’re doing a fantastic job, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season pans out.”

The Tornados were off to a busy week following the senior night loss on April 18, as they traveled to Graham-Kapowsin for an SPSL South Division matchup on Monday, April 21, followed by another division matchup against the Olympia Bears on Wednesday, April 23. Results of the matchup against Olympia were not readily available prior to the Nisqually Valley News going to print.

Following the matchups against the Bears and the Eagles, Yelm will travel to Prairie High School on Thursday, April 24, for a non-league matchup. The Tornados’ jam-packed week will conclude on Friday, April 25, in another divisional matchup against the Bethel Bison. The location of the matchup is undetermined, however.
“Keep coming out to support our team. We love seeing you at our games,” Walton said.