No automatic bids in the NEA

Just when a person thought winning the NEA league fastpitch championship rewards the team with a number 1 seed to the bi-district tournament, think again. Apparently the title gives a team first and second round hosting privileges only, but still requires the league champion to pass through the gauntlet of a one-day district tournament before actually being seeded at the very same bi-district bracket it was given the honor to host.

And so the Lakeside Lady Eagles traveled to Kettle Falls last Saturday to face the host of the district tournament, #4 Kettle Falls, a team Lakeside already defeated three times in league play by scores of 8-3, 6-1 and 7-0, in the second round. It remains a mystery why the district's fourth place team hosts the district tournament.

Kettle Falls must be a magical kingdom, because the Kettle Falls fastpitch team, with a league record of 8-7, took down #5 Chewelah 2-1, #1 Lakeside 4-2, and #2 Colfax 5-3 -- one two three -- in a marathon tripleheader.

In the second round game against Lakeside, which had a first round bye along with Colfax, KF managed to score 4 runs despite being out-hit 8-6 by the Eagles, and despite committing 4 errors to Lakeside's 1.

With the wins against the league co-champions, Kettle Falls earned the #1 bracketed seed into the first round of the bi-district tournament, hosted by now #3 seed Lakeside. Colfax earned the bi-district #2 seed from the NEA by beating league #3 Freeman in the second round, and Freeman earned the #4 seed to bi-district by beating league #6 and winless Newport in the first round.