‘Everything was working': Enumclaw's Harris overpowers Gig Harbor in district championship
When postseason softball commenced in early May, Enumclaw dual-threat Alyssa Harris requested to pitch exclusively — a chance for the ace to carry the Hornets into the 3A state tournament and beyond.
'I feel confident,' she told her coaches. 'I feel ready.'
There's risk in removing a .528/.597/.868 slugger from any lineup, but Harris' shift to full-time pitcher has netted Enumclaw the region's biggest reward.
In Saturday's District 3/4 3A championship at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, the PLU commit delivered again: Harris retired Gig Harbor's first 14 batters, delivered a complete game, and calmed the Tides in an 8-3 win. Enumclaw's premier arm fanned the seventh inning in order, inducing a swinging strike three for the win as teammates mobbed their star in the circle.
'I know how hard she works and how bad she wants it,' Enumclaw head coach Quinn Haney said. '(We) have a good relationship with understanding how her pitches are moving and what she wants.'
Harris notched her ninth start without issuing a walk this spring, mixing her effective rise-ball with a nasty changeup. She threw 101 pitches (76 strikes) and comfortably cruised behind six early Enumclaw runs.
'Everything was working,' Harris said of her pitch arsenal. 'And of course, my catcher (Ashlyn Elder) framed the crap out of a lot of balls.'
Harris struck out 16 over seven sensational frames, allowing four hits and three earned runs without a walk. Saturday's win improves the Hornets senior to 13-1 with a 1.93 ERA, tallying 233 strikeouts to just 18 walks this season.
'I think she's just such a competitor that she's continually going, and that's what makes a good pitcher,' Haney said. 'It's been fun being a former pitcher (at Enumclaw) and continuing that on, helping her as much as I can.'
The Hornets grabbed an instant lead when 3B Kaylie Plyler lifted a deep sacrifice fly to left field and 2B Bella Aubrey followed with a two-out, two-run homer — a high-arcing blast that snuck over the fence in left-center.
Leadoff shortstop Nadia Flaherty punched an opposite-field, RBI single to shallow left field and LF Ava Lim crushed a two-run homer to dead center in the second, pushing Enumclaw's lead to six before Gig Harbor mustered their first baserunner.
'They're selfless players,' Haney said. 'Whatever their role is when they come up to bat, they're very tough outs, and we make something happen.
'I can tell when they come up, they really want to play for each other.'
Gig Harbor's Willow Bonnici snapped Harris' perfect game bid with a solo home run in the fifth inning, and the Tides added two more in the sixth when Dani Biehl and Isabel Harris hit back-to-back doubles and Abby Miller beat out a routine fielder's choice to shortstop that plated another.
'I've been striving for a perfect game this season and haven't got it,' Harris said. 'But we'll get there.'
Enumclaw's Blake Hanson delivered two insurance runs with a sixth-inning double, 8-3, before Harris slammed the door.
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