The Bellevue softball team entered Thursday facing elimination and a pair of Metro League foes to complete their return run to the state tournament.

Too bad for the Metro League.

The Wolverines played inspired throughout both contests, the first a 6-0 win over West Seattle and the second a decisive 12-2 statement over Bishop Blanchet in six innings.

The Wildcats stood little chance against the pitching of Emily Fleischman, who controlled the game throughout and was aided by a four-run fifth inning that broke the game open, pushing the Bellevue lead to 5-0.

The Wolverines loaded the bases without a ball leaving the infield dirt before a Lisa Bennett single plated a pair of runs, their first since the opening frame.

From there it was more of the same, as Bellevue tacked on two more runs as Taylor Cooke, Maddie Smith and Sammie Trulson all chipped in.

While the offense played add-on, Fleischman proved she would need little assistance.

The junior struck out nine, giving up four hits and walking none in the complete game victory.

A victory over West Seattle set up another win-or-go-home situation for coach Heather Tracy’s squad. A trumph over Blanchet would mean a second straight appearance in the 3A state tournament. A loss would end the season.

Things began inauspiciously when the Braves touched Fleischman for a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, but quickly turned in favor of the Wolverines in the bottom half.

Marika McCarthy beat a ball down the line, advancing to second on a throwing error and scoring two batters later on a triple from Katie Savard.

Then it was again Bennett’s turn.

The lone senior on the Bellevue roster terrorized Blanchet all game and began her 4-4 day at the plate with a moon-shot home run over the right centerfield fence that gave Bellevue a lead it would not give back, jump-starting an electrifying offensive performance.

“I’ve been going up to the plate recently thinking too much,” Bennett said. “I just walked up there saying ‘if this is my last high school game, I’m going to crush the ball.” Tracy praised her team leader after the game for both her offensive output and dediated leadership.

“Lisa has done an absolutely fantastic job for us this whole week,” Tracy said. “As soon as that happened, you could just kind of see the momentum shift back to us.”

The Wolverines scored in each of the six innings and capped things off with a run in the sixth that invoked the ten-run rule and sent them rushing onto the field to celebrate and to Lacey next week to continue their quest for a 3A state softball title.

Each Bellevue starter had at least one hit in the clincher and McCarthy, Bennett, Savard, Anjani Briggs and Kaitlyn Melby each had multiple hits in the second game.

Fleischman finished with seven strikeouts against Blanchet and mixed in a dazzling changeup to keep hitters off her fastball. “I love that pitch,” Fleischman said.

Both Bennett and Tracy talked after the game about the importance of continuing the season and Bennett’s prep career.

“I’ve come so far with this group of kids, since I was eight years old,” Bennett said. Tracy added, “I think she [Bennett] is kind of realizing this is her last opportunity with these kids and she doesn’t want it to end. You can see it in her leadership.”

Game Notes

Bellevue banged out 18 hits in the Blanchet game and 12 in the first game of the day against West Seattle…Bennett went 6-8 on the day with six RBI and four runs scored…Taylor Cooke flashed the leather on a pair of occasions at second base, keeping one ball on the infield with a difficult snare and plucking another from shallow right field to end an inning…Fleischman allowed only eight hits over 13 innings and not a single earned run, throwing 162 pitches in the two games combined.