2B Prep Softball: Toledo exacts revenge on Ravens to reach State semis

Redemption Song – Riverhawks ride the wave for wins on Day 1 in Yakima

Toledo's Xtyn Norberg avoids a tag during the quarterfinals of the 2B State Tournament, Friday, May 23, at Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima. The Riverhawks went on to defeat Raymond-South Bend 8-7. / Photo by Kody Christen of The Chronicle

Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Softball

YAKIMA – You might not believe this, but coaches and players don’t always see eye to eye. And that’s not always a bad thing.

Take the Toledo softball team for example.

Ask any three random Riverhawks if handing Raymond-South Bend a loss in the 2B State Tournament was extra satisfying since it also served as a side dish of revenge served piping hot for a one-run loss in the district tournament and they’ll all three reply in the affirmative. Heck, two of them will start jumping up and down and barking out their response in exclamation.

But ask Toledo head coach Jeff Davis if he thinks his team is motivated by thoughts of redemption or assorted chips on one’s shoulder, and he’ll tell you no. He doesn’t think his players process the game like that. They’re just a bunch of softball girls who like to play softball. Their goal is to beat whoever is in front of them.

And in the end, it doesn’t matter that their perspectives are different. What matters is that the Riverhawks won twice on the opening day of the state tournament. And their 8-7 win over No. 4 ranked RSB that stretched into the night at the Gateway Sports Complex earned Toledo a spot back in the State semifinals.

And what a game that rematch was.

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