Trojans Repeat as Champs in the North
The 2021 season concluded a year ago with the Trojans on top of the North Region standings, the first time the feat had been accomplished since 2006. Despite the accomplishment, there was NWAC Championship Tournament due to COVID-19 and the team was left wondering what might have been. Fast forward to May, 2022 and the Trojans ran it back as North Region Champions, this time sharing a piece of the Title with Bellevue College (both teams finished with identical 24-4 conference records and splitting with each other 2-2).
Everett, WA - The 2021 season concluded a year ago with the Trojans on top of the North Region standings, the first time the feat had been accomplished since 2006. Despite the accomplishment, there was no NWAC Championship Tournament due to COVID-19 and the team was left wondering what might have been. Fast forward to May, 2022 and the Trojans ran it back as North Region Champions, this time sharing a piece of the Title with Bellevue College (both teams finished with identical 24-4 conference records and splitting with each other 2-2), and gunning for a first ever NWAC Championship.
Entering the double header with Douglas College on sophomore day, the Trojans were two games behind Bellevue, needing a pair of wins to tie the Bulldog's conference record and earn a share of the North Region Championship. In game one, both starting pitchers looked to be in control through the first two innings with just three combined hits (all singles). Kaylie Hoskins continued to control the game in the top half of the 3rd inning, striking out the side, which jump started the Trojans bats going into the bottom half of the 3rd. Madison German got things going with a lead off single. A sacrifice bunt moved her into scoring position and then Leiloa Bustamante came through with an RBI double to get the first run of the game across. Everett was not done scoring and drove across three more runs in that inning, set up by a Jordyn Lono double and an Isabelle Hansen two run home run.
Leading 4-0, Hoskins had more than enough run support to finish the job. Through the next three innings Kaylie would not give up a hit, walked just two batters and struck out five, to bring her game total up to 12. There would not be a 7th inning as the Trojans would get up by 8 runs after scoring a single run in the 4th, and score another three in the 6th, punctuating the game with a walk off single.
In total the Trojans scored 8 runs on 13 hits, while drawing two walks, and only striking out twice. Several players stood out offensively for EvCC. Leiloa Bustamante went 3 for 4 driving in 3 runs, Jordyn Lono went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and drove in 3 runs, Isabelle Hansen went 1 for 2 with a two run home run, and Madison German went 2 for 2 with a solo home run and also scored 3 runs.
Coming down to the last game of the regular season and needing a win to repeat as champions, the Trojans took to the field with focus and determination. Riley Swanson got the start in the circle and had one of her best games of the season. She started out strong, going 5 innings and giving up just two hits on 7 strikeouts and not allowing any runner to advance further than second base. The Trojan offense on the other hand looked a little tight, going hitless through three complete innings. Leiloa Bustamante broke up the no hitter in the 4th inning with a single, but nothing else got going and she was left stranded at 2nd base (moving over on a sac bunt).
Finally in the 5th inning the bats came alive to give some support to Swanson in the circle. Five runs were scored capped off by an Ivane Aholelei two-run homerun, her first of her collegiate career. Swanson pitched another one, two, three inning in the top of the 6th to set up more fireworks for the Trojan offense. After an Izzy Hansen single, Meleana Turner homered (her third of the season), which was then followed up with Madison German's second home run of the day, this time a two run shot, that walked off the Trojans in epic fasion, clinching the North Region with a 9-0 win.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Trojans climbed to #4 in the NWAC RPI rankings which ultimately determine the seeding of 16 teams into the NWAC Championship tournament, a four day double elimination event scheduled to begin on May 19th in Spokane, WA. With just a handful of games left to finish over the weekend, the RPI likely will not change much, if at all for the Trojans. If things in fact remain the same, Everett will enter the tournament as the #4 seed and is scheduled to play #13 seeded Edmonds College on 12:30pm on the opening day of the tournament. More information on the NWAC Championship Tournament can be found on the NWAC Website.