Behind some strong pitching and timely hitting, the Redmond fastpitch team won the 4A Kingco title Wednesday night and punched a return ticket to next weekend’s Class 4A state tournament.

Senior pitcher Erika Hendron contained one of the state’s most potent offenses and right fielder Maria Reisinger hit a clutch home run as the Mustangs defeated Woodinville Wednesday night at Hartman Park, 5-2, to earn the league crown and a return trip to the state tournament.

Hendron got into a bases loaded, one-out jam in the second inning and walked in a run to put the Falcons on the board 1-0. But after a force out at home and a pop out, the experienced hurler settled down into a groove, allowing only one run the rest of the way while striking out 11. Woodinville standout Cat Williams struck out four times as Hendron bewildered the Falcons’ lineup after the shaky start.

“She’s been very consistent all year long, and she’s grown so much in her mental approach,” Redmond coach Pat Frable said of his pitching ace. “She’s in great shape, and for a team to beat her it’s going to take a really good club.”

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES

After managing just one hit the first time through the lineup — a bunt single by Reisinger — the Mustangs were able to get to Woodinville ace Maria Gau in the momentum-shifting, three-run fourth inning.

Paige Mullins was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before Reisinger worked the count full, turned on an inside pitch and lined it over the right field fence for her third home run of the year to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.

“I’ve kind of been in a slump… so when I was up there I just had to keep telling myself to relax, put it in play, and keep my shoulder tight for my form,” Reisinger said of her at-bat. “She came in on me, and I just saw it and ripped it. I thought it was going to hit the fence, but it went.”

First baseman Emily Squires continued the offensive attack with a single and later scored on sophomore Lindsay Cristobal’s ground-rule double to deep left-center that squirted under the outfield fence. That gave the Mustangs a 3-1 lead, which they never relinquished.

Hendron may have silenced the big bats of Woodinville, which was averaging more than seven runs a game during its previous eight league contests, but she made sure to give credit to her catcher and her defense in the complete-game win.

“My catcher (Paige Mullins) is unbelievably awesome,” Hendron said. “She does a great job calling the pitches, and we just made a game plan for each batter. Paige was calling an awesome game, and the curveball worked really good.”

She added, “I have all the confidence in the world in the girls behind me, they’re just great. In our team huddles we have so much fun, and they’re so uplifting.”

Redmond finished the game with eight hits to Woodinville’s four. Reisinger led the offensive attack for the Mustangs, going 3 for 4 — a triple short of the cycle — with two RBIs.

RETURN TICKET TO STATE

The Mustangs, who surprised the state field last spring by placing third at state last year, earned a return trip to the big stage. And this season, Redmond has a ton of big-game experience, and it showed on Wednesday night when the stakes were the highest.

The Mustangs did not want to have to work their way back through the loser’s bracket to get to state as they have in seasons past.

“Our goal was to win our division and have a chance to win the Kingco crown, and we did that, and our next goal was to get to state,” said Frable, a first-year head coach. “Our kids have worked really hard and were really committed and have sacrificed a lot.”

Amid all the cheering, hugs and postgame celebration, the players knew all along that they were a part of something special this season as Redmond improved to 17-3 overall.

“Oh my gosh, this is amazing,” Reisinger said. “When we came in as sophomores, they had been undefeated that year before but lost in the playoffs, and last year we got third (in state). Coming into the season, everyone’s like, ‘you’re expected to take state,’ so we have had these targets on our backs all season. We’ve proven that we’ve earned it.”

Frable cautioned that the 4A state tournament, which will be held May 29-30 at SERA Fields in Tacoma, are a series of one-game seasons where the Mustangs must avoid looking ahead and focus on the task at hand.

Hendron agreed with her coach when asked about her goals for state.

“Just to have fun and every inning, every pitch, play as hard as we can,” she said.