Cardinals to play for NWAC title
SPOKANE — Top-seeded North Idaho College fended off No. 3 Edmonds 7-5 on Sunday night to advance to the championship game of the Northwest Athletic Conference softball championships at the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex.
NIC (49-3), which has won 22 games in a row, will play today at 1:30 p.m. Edmonds (42-7) will face No. 6 Lower Columbia (41-13) at 11 a.m. in a loser-out game. The winner will play NIC, needing to beat the Cardinals twice to capture the double-elimination tournament.
Taylor Anderson and Kayla Curtan had RBI singles in the second inning as NIC jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Kalyna Korok’s two-run single in the top of the fourth inning hiked NIC’s lead to 5-0.
Seli Aholelei smashed a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to pull Edmonds within 5-3.
Ashlyn Winn’s RBI single in the sixth pushed the Cards’ lead to 7-3, but the Tritons answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning off starter Madi Mott.
Audrey Seipert came on with two outs in the sixth in relief of Mott, with the tying run at the plate, and got the final four outs for the save.
Earlier Sunday, Megan Carver and Kennedy Anderson hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, and North Idaho went on to beat No. 4 Walla Walla 11-4.
Bailey Cavanagh, the former Lake City High standout, hit a two-run single in a four-run third inning. Korok added RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings.
Kira Haskell and Hailey Danly homered for Walla Walla, the last team to beat NIC, back on April 14.
NORTH IDAHO 11, WALLA WALLA 4
NIC 204 103 1 — 11 15 1
Walla Walla 100 030 0 — 4 11 2
Madi Mott, Audrey Seipert (5) and Taylor Anderson; Brandi Schoessler, Abby Giles (1), Amanda Smith (7) and Ashton Buffo. W — Mott (27-1). L — Schoessler (20-5).
HITS: NIC — Curtan, Carver 4, Anderson 3, Korok 2, Mott, Winn, Cavanagh 2, Kerr. WW — Harrison, Haskell 2, Hill 2, Danly, Schoessler, Giles 2, Thornton 2. 2B — Carver 2. HR — Carver (15), Anderson (13), Haskell (9), Danly (16).
NORTH IDAHO 7, EDMONDS 5
NIC 030 202 0 — 7 9 1
Edmonds 000 032 0 — 5 7 1
Madi Mott, Audrey Seipert (6) and Taylor Anderson; Seli Aholelei and Taylor Shigeta. W — Mott (28-1). L — Aholelei (27-4).
HITS: NIC — Curtan 2, K. Anderson, Korok 2, Winn 2, T. Anderson 2. Ed — Shimabukuro, Aholelei, Caco-Kekahuna, Hirano, Keliihoomalu, Manuel 2. 2B — Hirano, Keliihoomalu. HR — Aholelei (14).
NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, Spokane
Saturday
Big Bend 11, Douglas 2
Everett 10, Southwestern Oregon 8
Lower Columbia 9, Centralia 1
Edmonds 16, Highline 8
Walla Walla 9, Treasure Valley 1
Bellevue 11, Clackamas 6
Mt. Hood 2, Wenatchee Valley 1
North Idaho 10, Columbia Basin 0
Douglas 7, Southwestern Oregon 1 (loser out)
Centralia 12, Highline 4 (loser out)
Everett 6, Big Bend 4
Edmonds 17, Lower Columbia 10
Clackamas 6, Treasure Valley 1 (loser out)
Wenatchee Valley 10, Columbia Basin 6 (loser out)
Walla Walla 4, Bellevue 2
North Idaho 12, Mt. Hood 1
Douglas 7, Mt. Hood 6 (loser out)
Bellevue 19, Centralia 11 (loser out)
Lower Columbia 7, Clackamas 3 (loser out)
Wenatchee Valley 8, Big Bend 6 (loser out)
Sunday
Edmonds 3, Everett 2
North Idaho 11, Walla Walla 4
Douglas 11, Bellevue 9 (loser out)
Lower Columbia 9, Wenatchee Valley 0 (loser out)
Douglas 6, Everett 4 (loser out)
Lower Columbia 10, Walla Walla 3 (loser out)
North Idaho 7, Edmonds 5 (semifinal)
Lower Columbia 9, Douglas 3 (loser fourth)
Monday
Game 29 — No. 3 Edmonds (42-7) vs. No. 6 Lower Columbia (41-13), 11 a.m.
Game 30 — No. 1 North Idaho (49-3) vs. Winner Game 29, 1:30 p.m. (championship game)
Game 31 — if-necessary game, 4 p.m.