BCC softball won 26-straight before losses to Olympic

There’s no other way to put it: Bellevue Community College head softball coach Leah Francis is too modest.

Too modest to brag about her team, too modest to truly acknowledge the incredible string of dominating wins her team put together. But that’s because her team has bigger goals than to just run up a pretty record.

“From the beginning of the season, our goals were to win the division and make and win the NWAACC tournament,” Francis said. “But we are definitely having a very impressive year so far.”

There’s that modesty again.

The Bulldogs haven’t just won games (which they have, to the tune of 26-straight before this weekend’s losses to Olympic), but they’ve also won in truly dominating fashion.

Before Saturday, BCC hadn’t lost since the third game of the season-opening NWAACC showcase tournament in Richland on March 2. Since that time, the Bulldogs have been lighting up the scoreboard and smothering defenses.

BCC has outscored its opponents 335-79 during the streak.

“We’ve definitely had a dominating offense so far,” Francis said. “It’s hard to pin down one girl in particular. One of the reasons that we’re doing so well is that we have solid hitters throughout the lineup.”

A glance at the NWAACC softball statistical leaders supports that. Freshman infielder Korri Heideman is first in the league in batting average among players with more than 50 at bats with a .558 mark. Sophomore shortstop Erica Addison isn’t far behind, hitting 508.

While the Bulldogs don’t have huge numbers individually in the RBI department, that can be pinpointed to the strong overall lineup BCC puts on the field – every player can (and does) drive in runs for Bellevue.

“A lot of teams are realizing that you can’t just make it past our 3-4 hitters and coast,” Francis said. “You can’t just pitch around one or two girls in our lineup. We’re pretty powerful throughout.”

Francis also attributes the success of the Bulldogs thus far to the confidence her team brings to the field.

“The players believe they can be successful every time they step on the field,” she said. “They are really rallying around each other.”

The Bulldogs will play nine more times before the NWAACC Championships kick off on May 16 in Portland, Ore.

“The biggest thing for us is to keep the momentum going through playoffs,” she said. “We have been on a pretty good streak, so it’s important that mentally, we stay really tough.”

Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-4270 ext. 5060 or at jwillits@reporternewspapers.com.