The Bellevue College Bulldogs softball team finished another great season placing 4th at the NWAACC Softball Championship Tournament held in Portland, Oregon, May 18-21. It is the second year in a row that the Bulldogs have brought home the 4th place trophy. They are only one of two teams to place in the top four the past two seasons.
In what proved to be a dramatic and wild NWAACC tournament, the #2 seeded Bulldogs showed their grit and determination throughout. The team started the tournament on Friday beating Centralia 10-1. In game two, the Bulldogs got behind early to North Region rival Douglas. The Dawgs rallied in the seventh to score three runs, but it was not enough as Douglas came out on top, winning 5-3. The Dawgs were then forced into the losers bracket.
In game one on Saturday, Bellevue beat Grays Harbor 9-0 to start what turned into the most dramatic day of softball in Bulldog history. Game two on Saturday pitted the Bulldogs against #3 seeded Southwest Oregon (one of two NWAACC teams to beat Bellevue this season). The game was a pitchers duel as the teams battled back and forth for six innings in a 1-1 tie. In the top of the seventh, Bellevue’s Haylee Baker walked and Lindsey West followed with a two-run homerun to put the team ahead 3-1. Bellevue then rallied for six more runs and Emilly Cunningham shut down SWOCC in the seventh inning for the dramatic 9-1 win.
That win kept the Bulldogs alive to face the #1 seeded Knights from Wenatchee Valley in their third loser-out game of the day. The Knights scored one run in the first inning before Danielle Orvella and Cunningham combined to shut them out the rest of the game. The Bulldogs struggled to get anything going offensively until the seventh inning. Behind 1-0 and down to their last two outs of the season, the Bulldogs’ Larissa Johnson hit a double to keep the team alive. With one strike on her in the bottom of the seventh, the next batter, Jessica Tingley, hit a towering walk-off homerun that cleared the fence by 40 feet to give the Dawgs the dramatic come-from-behind victory and cap an amazing day of softball for the program.
On Sunday, the Bellevue faced up against Clackamas in another loser-out game. The last time these two teams met, Clackamas won 1-0 in a classic battle of powerhouse rivals. This time proved to be much of the same and the teams battled back and forth for seven innings. Tied 4-4 with two outs in the seventh, Clackamas was able to force across the winning run to end the Bulldogs dramatic tournament run.
“This was one of the most memorable weekends of sports I have ever been a part of,” said Bulldogs head coach Leah Francis. “I am so proud of the way this team played; with grit, heart and determination. It was a fun weekend and an amazing season. We are all very proud of this squad and how they represented Bellevue College!”
The Bulldogs finished up the year with an overall season record 44-5, taking home a North Region 1st Place trophy and an NWAACC 4th Place trophy!
Year-End Awards for Bulldogs Softball:
NWAACC All-Tournament Team
Emilly Cunningham
Lindsey West
NWAACC All-Americans
Haylee Baker
Autumn Isaacson
NWAACC Golden Shoe Award (Most stolen bases in NWAACC)
Autumn Isaacson
North Region Pitcher of the Year
Danielle Orvella
North Region Player of the Year
Haylee Baker
North Region Coaching Staff of the Year
Leah Francis, Whitney Whittemore, Sarah Hyatt, Rita Roach, Matt Hernandez
First Team North Region All-Stars
Danielle Jackman
Sarah Agerup
Meaghan Ransier
Lindsey West
Emily Guluarte
Autumn Isaacson
Second Team North Region All-Stars
Emilly Cunningham
Larissa Johnson
Jessica Tingley
Nicole Barger
Breanna Wilson
All-Academic Sports Team Spring Quarter
Emily Guluarte
Danielle Jackman
Danielle Orvella
Last Updated January 29, 2014
