The Douglas College Royals wrapped up their first North region women’s softball title following a two-game sweep over Everett.
Douglas stopped the Washington college team with 10-3 and 10-1 wins on the road on Tuesday.
The Royals will advance to the Northwest community college championships in Portland, Oregon, beginning on Friday.
The back-to-back wins gave the Royals an 18-3 record in conference play and 25-6 overall, clinching top spot over runner-up rival Bellevue.
The Royals will be seeded fourth in the regional championships.
“I know there is still more out of this team. It’s a small team (in numbers), so it has truly been a team effort from the get-go,” said first-year head coach Michelle Peters. “It’s helped them get here.”
The college team is led by sophomore captains Jennifer McKellar and Hillary Strelau, who is second in the conference with a .584 batting average, including 59 hits and 24 runs batted in.
In the opening win over Everett, Strelau scored three runs on three hits, with one RBI, while McKellar had two runs on one hit.
Cassidy Peterson also contributed with three RBI on two hits, including her first home run of the year.
“They’re on a high, they’re pumped and were singing on the bus all the way home, and that’s what you want to see,” Peters said.
While last season’s Cinderella march to the conference final was about as sweet as they come, this year’s final is clouded by budget cuts that threaten to derail the successful three-year program.
Three weeks ago, the college cut funding for softball and men’s baseball and announced the teams must “pay to play” next year.
That means that college players who want to play those sports will have to bring to the table upwards of $2,500 each to participate, Peters said, adding those costs do not include post season championships.
Douglas director of student affairs Paul Cohee said the college is still actively supporting the baseball and softball programs, but it is a matter of spreading available funds fairly among the 14,000-plus students who take classes there.
“It is a situation we are in, but I’m always optimistic that members of the community, or through our foundations, we can find donors,” Cohee said. “But I have a really broad engagement of students at the college, and my mandate is to support as many students as we can.”
Douglas will take on Highline in its opening game at the Northwest championships on Friday.
