The Sitka High Lady Wolves are now resting on their laurels, after their championship win against the Ketchikan Lady Kings in Fairbanks over the weekend.
But Saturday’s success was not a simple matter for Sitka. The Lady Wolves had lost five regular-season games to Ketchikan. Nevertheless, head coach Jael McCarty was confident approaching the final games.
Lady Wolves varsity softball team. (Photo courtesy Sitka High School Facebook page)
“I didn’t really have a doubt about Saturday, but playing Ketchikan you never know. So we came into that first game knowing that this was the most important game of the tournament. if we won this game, I was pretty confident with winning the championship,” she said.
That first Sitka win sent the Lady Kings to the loser’s bracket. But the Ketchikan girls fought their way back for a rematch with the Lady Wolves for the title. The championship was full of tense moments.
The Lady Wolves found themselves trailing the Lady Kings by the time Sophomore pitcher Zoe Krupa entered the game.
“The score was 2-0, Ketchikan was up. It was really good, and I felt like we had it, we knew for sure we could bring it back up and score.”
And the Lady Wolves did just that. Sitka brought it home in the 5th inning. The Lady Wolves were up by 6 in the bottom of the 5th– already with 2 outs– when Kelcie VonScheerschmidt went up to bat.
“I was really scared. I was shaking in the box. But, I hit a good ball out to right, and that brought two runners in. You know, just being put in at a moment like that, is like scary. But, but I knew I could do it,” she said.
Up by 8 runs after 5 innings, the game — and the championship — went to Sitka under the so-called “mercy rule.” Coach McCarty says it was a relief to finally put Ketchikan behind them.
“So many of our girls had their best game of the season, or their best tournament of the season. You’re never safe against Ketchikan because they can put up ten runs in one inning. They have bats up and down the lineup. Those of you who watched the championship game, anybody in their lineup can hit a homerun at anytime, and so you never really feel safe. Which is why I was glad we took them in five and not given them extra bats,” she said.
The win was Sitka’s 5th small-school state championship in 6 years. Several players graduated this past May, and for now the players left behind will be enjoying the summer break before coming back to try for number 6 next season.
