Bobbi-Jo Schaapveld’s right arm never tired in the Rogers Rams’ pursuit of a berth at the Class 4A state fastpitch tournament.
Schaapveld pitched every inning for her team during the district tournament and her three-hit shutout against the Emerald Ridge Jaguars on May 17 sent the Jaguars home for the summer and, more importantly, assured the Rams of a berth at the state tournament following a 2-0 victory.
Rogers second baseman Ashley Evans knew her team had the talent to achieve a goal they set out for themselves when practices kicked off in late February.
“I expected us to be where we are right now. It was one of our goals and it’s going to happen now,” Evans said. “We knew it would be hard but we did it and we did it against Emerald Ridge, too.”
Rogers took an early 1-0 lead when Nicole Morrow’s fly ball to left field glanced off of the glove of Emerald Ridge’s left fielder, scoring Olivia Toma from first base in the top of the first inning. Morrow came through for the Rams once again in the top of the third, giving her team a 2-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. Morrow’s infield single scored a hustling Jessica Brock from second base adding an insurance run on the board.
Brock not only scored one of Rogers’ two runs, but her stalwart defensive play at shortstop quelled Emerald Ridge threats on more than a few occasions. Brock was a brick wall at shortstop, helping turn double plays in the bottom of the third and bottom of the sixth that helped Schaapveld get out of potential jams.
“Jessica told me before the game that she was going to do anything she could to help us get to state,” Rogers Rams head coach Jacy Ramsey said. “She’s out there playing with a pulled hamstring but no one would ever know it. She sold out today. It was her first time playing at the district tournament and she came up big on defense for us.”
Rogers holds on against Tahoma in late innings
The Rams kept their hopes of advancing alive after hanging on for a 7-5 victory against Tahoma in a loser-out contest on May 17.
Schaapveld got the win pitching a complete game, allowing five runs in seven innings of work. Schaapveld surrendered three runs in top of the seventh, but held on for the win.
“Bobbi-Jo pitched a great game. She doesn’t pitch for herself but she pitches for our team. She’s a total team player and is doing a good job for us during the tournament,” Ramsey said.
The Rams trailed 2-1 early on but got back into the game courtesy of timely hitting. Morgan Heileson, Devin Larson and Meagan Lee recorded clutch hits which in turn woke up the Rogers offensive attack.
“We did a lot of fake bunt hits. When we faked the bunt their entire infield came in,” Ramsey said. “Once that happens there’s a lot of open space in the field. We put the ball in play and it made it tough on their defense. They made some mental mistakes and we put up some runs to take advantage.”
Rams roll over Wolves
After an unexpected loss against Graham-Kapowsin in their opening round game on May 16, the Rogers Rams took out their frustrations against the South Kitsap Wolves registering a 13-3 victory in a loser-out game on May 16.
“After losing our first game our backs were against the wall,” Ramsey said. “We came out fought hard and got the win. Our bats were aggressive. We made contact. Their outfielders were playing pretty deep which gave us an opportunity to get a lot of hits in front of them.”
The Rams were just as aggressive on the basepaths as they were at the plate.
“Jessica Brock had two legitimate triples,” Ramsey said. “We pushed the envelope and it showed.”
Rogers scored seven runs in the bottom of the second. Haylie Watson, McKinzy Nasinec, Kaila Ulufale, Brock, Larson, Lee and Schaapveld scored a run apiece in the inning.
Schaapveld never doubted her teams’ ability to come out with a win against South Kitsap.
“There was a lot of pressure but I was pretty confident,” Schaapveld said. “We went out there and played our game.”
Eagles shock Rams in opener
The Rogers Rams fastpitch team didn’t start off the district tournament the way they finished the regular season.
The Rams finished the season as SPSL South champions and earned the honor of attaining a No. 1 seed at districts.
Graham Kapowsin, which was the No. 10 seed, showed when the postseason arrives every teams’ record is 0-0.
Graham-Kapowsin pulled off an improbable upset, defeating the Rams 4-1 in the first game of districts on May 16. The Eagles built a 4-0 lead in the first six innings of play. Rogers finally got on the board while trying to mount a comeback in the bottom of the seventh after Ulufale’s single to left field scored Watson for Rogers’ first run of the game.
But the rally came too little, too late for the Rams.
“We didn’t have our best hitting game,” Ramsey said. “They are a tough team. Every time we’ve played them this season the games have been close so it wasn’t like we took them lightly or anything. We didn’t execute at the plate or in the field.
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