2A Fastpitch Softball State Tournament 2026

The Deer Park Stags fast pitch softball team qualified for the 2A state tournament.  I am looking from the outside in but what I see is a team that truly works together, loves softball and they really care about each other.  So fun to watch! I say that all the time, fun to watch. Mike and I took off early Friday morning to get to the team's first game.  After all the pictures I have taken I learned something new.  I put the camera on repeat and it keeps taking pictures as long as I hold the button down.  When Lucy does something great, which she does a lot, I want to see exactly what she did so I take the my finger off the button.  That's OK but sometimes I miss capturing a sequence of what she was doing.  

This field was a bit challenging for pictures in some ways.  I kept trying from different places.  I went to  the opposing team's side for some pictures.  I didn't like that.  They probably didn't either when I said GO LUCY! I got a couple of looks. 

This is one where I missed the whole sequence.  You can see the ball in the lower right corner. 

She got the ball and threw it.

A bit blurry but this was the celebration for a successful throw that resulted in an out.  

Lucy had a lot of hits.  This was one.  

The supporters!

Love this picture.  Lucy had 2 successful bunts for singles.  Off she goes. 

The ball was in the glove but it was too late. Lucy was safe at first!!! Impressive. 

Scooping up the ball!

Getting ready to make the throw. 

The throw!

Another out!

I missed the sequence here too.  

I got Lucy fielding the ball and missed the throw.  This was right after that throw.  She made some amazing plays all throughout the tournament.  

Kristin got a great video of Lucy's longest home run!  Click on the link below to watch it. (Lucy's Crushed Home Run).  The ball goes a long way. It hits the roof a building behind the field after it goes over the fence.  We are all in awe!

Lucy's Crushed Home Run

I got pictures of Lucy's swing after the ball was launched. 

And her trip around the bases. 

Love this.  Lucy has a big smile. I am not sure what she is looking at, maybe the ball being crushed over the fence.  It was CRUSHED! 

Lucy hit 4 home runs in three games.  Her total for the entire season is 24 home runs. WOW!

I was taking pictures and Kristin asked if I got the ball.  I thought she wanted to know if I caught a picture of one of Lucy's home runs.  Nope! She wanted the actual ball.  They haven't been saving the balls from home runs but the state tournament was different. Those needed to be saved for sure. We found it under a car. 

Kristin's home run poses.  

They didn't go all the way and that didn't matter at all.  It was truly a fabulous experience seeing the Lady Stags come together to play softball.  It is a special team.  They help each other and encourage each other. Lucy was so good!  Her defense was above and beyond what anyone would expect.  One of the players on the Deer Park got injured during the game.  A player from the other team slid into her her with her metal cleats.  It cut her leg open and she went off the hospital for lots of stitches.  On Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the hotel. We met two parents from the team Deer Park was playing and they saw the injury.  Our player was taken to the hospital. She will be fine thankfully.  The parents gave the Deer Park team a great complement. The dad said he sort of expected retribution of some sort. No verbal comments or shenanigans on the field.  His words. There was nothing.  He was impressed. They truly are a special group!!!  

Thursday, our Last Day on our Anniversary Trip .

We had such great memories of Twisp when we were there in 2016.  We decided to go again.  Twisp is about 15 miles from Winthrop.  This was a bakery we went to in 2016.  Mike had a huge cinnamon roll. No more cinnamon rolls but they did have cinnamon twists.  We both passed on having a twist. There was really nothing else to look at or to do in Twisp.  The reason it was so fun last time was because it was the 4th of July.  A parade and streets filled with people.  We sort of forgot about that.  We didn't stay long.  

We did go to a grocery store.  Franks was the name of the store.  Frank sold it to Rosauers.  I had never seen so many animals in a grocery store or anywhere for that matter.  There had to be over 40 animals of all different kinds. Yes, that is a lion!

I learned later that the previous owner of the store, Frank, hunted every one of these animals.  He even went on African Safaris.  I didn't take picture of everything obviously.  Hopefully, Rosauers won't take them down.  They are a part of the history of the area.  

I finished of the day with a short walk over the suspension bridge right by the inn we were staying in. 

Not sure what that door leads to but I didn't investigate.  

That's all for our 25th anniversary trip to Winthrop and the North Cascades Loop in Washington!  We had a good time and it was very relaxing.  We met a great couple from England at breakfast one morning.  We talked to them about our faith and they shared the same with us. It was a divine encounter.  Thank you Jesus!  

 

25th Anniversary Trip Day 1 Winthrop, WA

Take a picture tour of Winthrop, WA.  An old western town! Wooden walkways all around town.  

This store was a general store.  It had a little bit of everything. 

We took this picture in 2016 too. 

It was quieter this visit to Winthrop.  We were in Winthrop during the week and last time we visited on the 4th of July weekend.  There were horses tie up along this street in 2016.  

The grocery store and gas station.  Rustic!

We spent the day looking in all the shops.  Mike and I both got swim shoes to wear in the lakes around WA.  Most of the stores were very unique.