With injuries to both M-P pitchers Riley Fritz and Jen Rosie (pictured), the Tomahawk softball team may be an even bigger underdog than last year for this spring's district tournament.

Well, rain yesterday limited some interesting high school match-ups.

Two local softball teams, Marysville-Pilchuck and Arlington were both scheduled to play, each game with implications for the district tournament. Arlington is led by the extremely consistent and strong pitching of senior Christina Rayner and the team is all but assured of an appearance in the district tournament with only their seeding into the tournament on the line. That double-elimination bracket will feed three teams from Wesco North and South into the state tournament.

Which leads to the other team apparently rained out yesterday. Last season, the Tomahawks enjoyed a Cinderella season, picked to finish in the cellar of the league after the departure of utility player and regular pitcher Miranda Rosebrook to Wenatchee Valley College. Instead, thanks to the emergence of then-freshman pitcher Riley Fritz, M-P climbed out of the bottom to clinch the district’s fourth and then-final seed with a win over league dynamo Monroe. They beat the Bearcats again in the tournament and wound up district champions on a hot streak.

This year, M-P needs another miracle. Fritz has been struggling with an ankle injury throughout the season and last week junior pitcher Jen Rosie injured her hand in play. Nearly every loss they’ve had has been by one run and it looks like their season will come down to a dominant-looking league rival. The team was scheduled to play Everett yesterday and undefeated Stanwood today for a chance at a play-in game to face Stanwood again in the first round of the tournament.

Last time I saw the Tomahawks play, I learned freshman Monica Clow is the team’s third pitcher. Will M-P turn to her to help fulfill the team’s playoff aspirations?

The Tomahawk soccer team huddles for a pre-game pep talk.

Today marks the first day I take up blogging to supplement sports coverage in The Marysville Globe and The Arlington Times, and after yesterday’s games, I couldn’t think of a better way to start.

With a slow Monday, yesterday kicked off the week in coverage for me. Arlington softball played undefeated Stanwood for the second time this season, the Eagles’ only loss coming to Stanwood 2-0 at the beginning of the league calendar. Senior Christina Rayner pitched for Arlington, while the Eagle batters saw Stanwood ace Brittany Jeans this time, unlike their first game featuring Corinne Stillman.

Interestingly, the games had a similar outcome — Stillman had the game-winning RBIs for the Spartans. Arlington is still one of the best teams in the league, able to get hits when they need them and solid on defense. My only doubt about yesterday’s game was the decision to use a designated player in Rayner’s slot after the pitcher was 3-for-4 at bat against Lake Stevens the week before. She entered the batting order in the seventh inning but struck out against Jeans.

The late game was undefeated Marysville-Pilchuck (10-0-2) against Snohomish (10-2-1). The Tomahawks have moved up the state polls by virtue of their record, but by pulling out a 5-3 victory (following a 2-2 draw in their first go this season), M-P appears to be in control of their league destiny. Furthermore, they won against a top team despite the fact that all three Snohomish goals appeared to be the result of defensive lapses, which could be easily fixed.

The key for this Tomahawk team is to keep their work ethic up and stay humble.

“Sometimes they come in thinking talent is enough,” said coach Geoff Kittle.

Senior Seth Jones had a hat trick for M-P while junior forward John Crenshaw scored two.