‘We were doubted coming into this game.’ Cascade cools off mighty Marist Catholic to clinch a softball state championship ‘eight years in the making’
By Paul Valencia | Photos by Dan Brood
They knew.
They knew how great the opposing pitcher was in the championship game.
They knew.
They knew it was going to be a battle.
They knew.
They knew, everyone knew, that the other team was getting more of the hype — because the other team had earned that hype.
They also knew that they had every right to be there, too.
Once the Cascade Cougars realized that Tuesday afternoon, they started getting on base, stringing hits together, and then rallied for the 2022 OSAA 4A softball state championship.
Kailee Bode’s infield single with two outs in the top of the seventh scored pinch runner Lexie Gidcumb with the go-ahead run, and Cascade pitcher Hannah Walliman got the side out in order in the bottom of the frame for a 3-2 victory over No. 1 Marist Catholic at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene.
“Honestly, I just swung the bat and hoped for the best,” Bode said.
She saw Gidcumb on third base.
“Just get it to where she can come in,” Bode said. “I ended up doing that, which I didn’t realize until I got to first base.”
It was an infield hit deep in the hole at shortstop. Bode said she probably ran faster than she ever has on a softball field to beat the throw.
For the first time all day, Cascade had the lead.
Then it was up to Walliman and the Cascade defense to secure the victory. A popup to first. A groundout to second. Finally, a ground ball to third. Malia Scanlan fielded it cleanly and fired a perfect throw across the field to Jaimy Bangert at first base.
“Every single one of our playoff games, every last out has gone to third base,” Walliman said. “I thought that was kind of funny. ... It was incredible. We were doubted coming into this game. It’s eight years in the making.”
Emma Hilfiker, who drove in a run in the fifth inning, kept the winning rally alive in the seventh with a two-out single.
“It means everything,” Hilfiker said. “The nine seniors that were on the field have all played together since 10 or 12U, and it’s just amazing to grow up with the same girls, playing with the same girls, and this is how we’re going to end our senior year. It’s amazing.”
As Walliman noted, though, there were some doubts entering the championship game. Not because of Cascade, but because of the impressive performances by Marist Catholic in these playoffs. Malia Williams and the Spartans cruised through the bracket with three consecutive no-hitters.
Williams had 10 strikeouts through four no-hit innings to open the championship game, too.
“It was a little nerve-racking in the beginning, striking out,” Hilfiker said. “I was like, ‘OK, guys, find a hit, get it going.’ Once the game kind of settled in and we realized it wasn’t going to be a blowout, that we were actually in this thing and it was close … we put our bats on the ball. It all went together, and we scored the three runs that we needed.”
Marist Catholic opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with Kellie Schroffner connecting for a two-out single to plate Myla Mahoney, who walked to lead off the inning.
Cascade’s offense woke up in the top of the fifth. Walliman walked, Scanlan got the first hit of the game for the Cougars, and Bangert followed with a bunt single to load the bases with no outs.
Williams and the Spartans were close to getting out of the frame, getting the next two outs, but Hilfiker smoked a single to center field to score one.
Marist Catholic center fielder Paige Doerr made an impressive play just to stop the ball and then threw a perfect strike to catcher Madeline Hopkins to get the third out of the inning at the plate, keeping it a 1-1 score.
Williams got a two-out hit in the bottom of the fifth and came home after a Mahoney single and Cascade miscues for a 2-1 Marist Catholic lead.
No problem for the Cougars. Bode led off the top of the sixth with a single, stole second base, stole third base and came home on a sacrifice fly by Crystal Campbell. Bode’s slide came just under the tag to tie the score.
Walliman worked around a walk and got two strikeouts in the sixth inning, setting up the dramatic final inning for the Cougars.
Caylen Metcalf, who earlier saved a run with a running catch at the warning track in right field, had a one-out single in the top of the seventh. Gidcumb entered as a pinch runner and went to second on a wild pitch. She advanced to third on Hilfiker’s two-out single. Hilfiker went to second base, putting runners on second and third for Bode.
Bode’s hit went into the hole at shortstop. Hilfiker didn’t move.
“Honestly, I’ve been running into that out right there,” she said of some early-season gaffes. “I’m just glad I stayed back at ‘2’ and let her score.”
It took all seven innings, but the Cougars figured out what they had to do, and they are bringing home a state championship.
“In the beginning, we were just really, really excited. We were too excited,” Bode said. “We couldn’t pull that excitement down. We couldn’t figure out how to hit the ball. We realized that we’re in the game. We need to get this done. We can get it done. Our defense was good. We got our defense down. We just needed to hit the ball. Relax and hit the ball. And we did.”
Williams finished with 12 strikeouts in the championship game. She and the Spartans will always have that incredible run to get to the final: three games, three shutouts, three no-hitters.
“Keep our heads up high,” Williams said of the attitude of the team after the game.
A senior, she also had some advice for the younger players.
“Be ready for next year, too,” she said, noting that Marist Catholic softball is “one big family.”
Cascade dedication
The Cougars played the game for former assistant coach Hannah Ganfield, who is in the hospital with a health scare.
“Hannah is a big part of this organization. She’s going through a tough time right now,” Bode said. “To win this game, we did it for her. We wanted it for her.”
The Cougars held up a sign that read P4H … Play for Hannah … as they accepted their state championship trophy.
