Newport softball loses at districts after comeback

SPOKANE — Newport softball played two games in the District 6 2B tournament at Deight Merkel Park Thursday, May 15.

Despite a home run by Bella Boyd, along with a single, two hits by Lilliana Hall, and hits by Isabella Monk, Flaviana Stutzman and Alyssa Dibble, Newport fell 14-8 to Colfax in the first game.

That put them in a loser out game with Asotin that same day.

Newport was down 6-0 early, but battled back to 6-5 heading into the seventh inning. Asotin came through with five runs in the top of the seventh and Newport was unable to answer, falling 11-8.

“I’m proud of how the team didn’t give up,” Newport Coach Steve Braun says.

“It would’ve been great to win that second game, but the effort and resilience were definitely there.”

Hall, Abby Martin, Boyd and Monk all hit doubles and Stutzman hit a triple but it wasn’t enough to put them over the top.

“I think being a young team, we were a bit nervous and made some mistakes — mistakes we hadn’t been making during our 12-game winning streak,” Braun says. “In both games, we fell behind early and fought back, but just didn’t have enough time — or runs — to come out on top.”

Still it was a great season for Newport. “We ended with 14 wins, which is the most Newport softball has had in a single season in a long time,” Braun says. “And with only one senior on the team, we’re still very young. I’m really excited to see what next year holds for us.”