LACEY — If there were any doubts about the kind of competitor that Nevaeh Haagen is, those can be tucked to sleep.
Haagen, Timberline’s star junior pitcher, battled through an illness and put on her cape to fuel the Blazers to a 16-2 blowout of rival River Ridge at the Regional Athletic Complex Monday afternoon.
Despite being under the weather, she never came out of the five-inning contest She pitched all five frames, striking out 11 and allowing only two runs (neither were earned) off three hits and one walk. At the plate, she went a perfect 3 for 3 with three runs batted in, one walk, four runs scored and two stolen bases.
There was simply never a question about whether Haagen would play, and there was no question where her head was at after the game — getting better.
“I told myself, ‘Get out of bed. You’re gonna pitch. Let’s do this,’” Haagen said. “I wish I could have done a little better at the plate.”
Says the girl who reached base and scored every time she stepped up to the plate.
Timberline, coming off Saturday’s game where it only collected two hits and was held scoreless against Skyline, started Monday’s game by surpassing those previous totals three batters into the contest. Porsha Miller and Leovi Meno-Meyers singled to lead off the day, and Kayleese Dorfner brought them both home on a double. Haagen notched her first hit of the day on the second pitch she saw, ripping an RBI single to left field past the River Ridge third baseman creeping toward the plate expecting a bunt with a runner at third and no one out.
Leilani Palacios kept the first-inning run rolling with a pop fly single to right field, scoring the fourth run of the frame.
While Haagen’s start at the plate was stellar, it wasn’t a smooth beginning in the circle. Her first seven pitches were all balls, and she allowed her first three batters to reach base, two of which scored. Jaylah Sok-Vandergriff grounded a ball and scored Kaylani Karageorge due to an infield error by the Blazers, and Raylie Birklid’s RBI double cut the margin to 4-2. Haagen settled in, striking out three of the next four batters to end the first and then striking out the side in the second.
After a clean second inning by Birklid in the circle, the Blazers took advantage of some mishaps in the third. Timberline put two runners on with a walk and a hit batter, and Dorfner scored on a passed ball. Palacios added her second RBI of the day on a first-pitch double, and Brynnli Mayr tacked on an RBI groundout. A bases-loaded walk by Abigail Terry made it 8-2 through the third.
Haagen drove in her second run in the fourth, Brookelyn Read tacked on a run on a sac fly, and Mayr socked a two-run single in the right-field gap to give Timberline a 12-2 lead.
The Blazers finished the game off with a four-run fifth, including the third RBI from Haagen on a pop fly that the third baseman couldn’t locate. Sophia Wiggs drove in a pair on a single to right.
Even with a 14-run advantage, Haagen came out to pitch the bottom of the fifth, and she earned all three outs via strikeout and stranded two runners in scoring position. She had been calm all game, but she let out a yell after the final strikeout. She dominated the Hawks by mixing in a wicked fastball, a devastating dropball and a nasty curveball.
“At first, nothing was working, and then my curveball came back. My dropball was good today,” Haagen said. “I’ve kept practicing the dropball because once it’s bad, I just go and I throw it. I just keep throwing it. Last year, it was not my strong suit."
Before the game, Haagen’s mother asked her if she was certain she wanted to play, and Haagen gave a resounding yes. Polanco said she asked Haagen early in the game if she wanted a pinch runner, but Haagen refused.
“We have another pitcher. I could have thrown the other pitcher, but she probably wouldn’t have let me do that either,” Polanco said of Haagen. “She’s a go-getter. She’s hungry. She wants to be out there. Even though she’s sick, you can’t hold her back.”
Palacios was effective at the plate, driving in three on a 3-for-4 day. Dorfner and Wiggs both went 2 for 2 with a pair of RBIs, while Mayr tallied three RBIs.
River Ridge third-year head coach Danny Greene acknowledged that his team has been dealt a tough hand to start the season, including losing their starting catcher and outfielder, and they’re down to four or five girls who have played varsity ball before. The Hawks also haven’t used top pitcher Jaylah Sok-Vandergriff in the circle this season as they work to find a replacement catcher.
“Five of our players today were JV players, so they’re wide-eyed and we felt they weren’t quite ready. But we threw them in the fire. We had no choice,” Greene said. “We can hit better than that. I’m not going to make excuses. I’m not giving up on the girls.”
Even though the Blazers offense came back to life after a woeful game against Skyline, Polanco knows there’s plenty of room for improvement.
“We’ve still got some work to do. Saturday proved that against Skyline. Coming out here today against our league rivals, we definitely wanted to come out strong, which we did,” she said. “While it looks good right now, I’m not satisfied.”
“Everybody in there is not satisfied,” Haagen added.
Timberline (2-1, 2-0 Puget Sound League) will host Mount Tahoma on Tuesday after the matchup was postponed last week, while River Ridge (2-2, 2-1 Puget Sound League) will visit Lakes on Wednesday.
