Bulldogs Go To Yakima

PASCO, Wash.-- The Dayton Bulldogs advanced to the Washington State 2B playoffs Friday night after beating neighboring rival Waitsburg-Prescott 12-5 in a District 9 tournament game to determine who would go on to Yakima this year.

The victory was huge for the Bulldogs, who have struggled in recent years to make it to the playoffs despite strong finishes. The last time they went was in 2008. WP made it last year.

"Oh I'm ecstatic. We're very excited." Dayton coach Terry Robins said. "We faltered the last two years. We got beat out in districts because we made one error. This same group right here played a game similar to this, and did not bring their sticks. Today they brought them."

The Bulldogs certainly produced with at least one hit in every inning except for the third, for a total of 12 hits. Junior catcher Miwa Umeda led the way with four hits and three RBIs along with Jessica Tate, who had three hits and four RBIs.

Umeda and pitcher Kayla Turner form the core of the team, Robbins said.

" Kayla and Miwa are the ones that lead this team, and they lead it by catching and pitching. When they're on their game, they're pretty tough to beat." Robbins said.

Assistant coach Desirae Jones said that despite her strong batting, Umeda's real value was behind home plate.

"Even when she's not hitting well, she brings a certain intensity behind the plate." Jones said. "She doesn't let very many pitches get behind her and that just helps the whole team. It helps everybody have confidence in each other too. Even if Kayla [Turner] has a couple wild pitches, Miwa is right there to keep them in front of her."

The Tigers, a team also known for strong batting, had 10 hits, but failed to string them together to match the Bulldogs' production. Despite having three hits through the first two innings, the Tigers did not put points on the board until the third, when they scored two runs off three singles and a double. It was too little, too late for W-P, which was already down 6-0 when the half inning started.

Although a big lead can sometimes cause teams to tighten up, Robbins said the lead only allowed the Bull- lead only allowed the Bulldogs to be more aggressive.

"[Confidence] always affects the game. I'm sure that when we jumped out to a sixrun lead, that the other kids had difficulty responding to that," Robins said. "Confidence plays a big part in it. It allows the pitcher to throw a little freer and it allows the kids to go for the ball when they want to on a fly."

The Bulldogs never had another huge inning like the first, but strung enough hits together to put the game away, and as the game ended, the Dayton dugout came streaming out onto the infield, as the Bulldogs celebrated earning their first trip to state in three years.

"We know they're going to make a run at us, every game, one or two times through the game, and these girls have come to understand that they just have to weather the run they're going to make at us, and we'll be fine." Robbins said. "They did it today. [WP] had the bases loaded a couple times, they scored a few runs, but [we] weathered through those runs.

"I think it's just the experience of the seniors helping these kids. The other thing that we preach to our kids is that if your teammate makes a mistake, you help her up, you don't get down on her you don't be mad at her. You help her up, and you keep things going and you stay confident and you show good character. That's what we work for: sportsmanship character and confidence."

Dayton will play Reardan in the first round of state playoffs at the Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima at 9 a.m. on Friday.