Vote now for The News Tribune’s Softball Athlete of the Week for contests played between May 18-23. Voting will remain open until noon Friday.
The poll is located below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below.
Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. Votes emailed will not be counted.
Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley (jon.manley@thenewstribune.com) or Tyler Wicke (twicke@thenewstribune.com) or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) with the athlete’s first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday.
McKenna Charlton, White River — The junior third baseman’s walk-off single capped a three-run comeback in the seventh inning and lifted White River over Seattle Prep, 6-5, in the Class 3A state opening round on Thursday. Charlton finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Manamea Laban, Graham-Kapowsin — Freshman right fielder doubled and tripled (2-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI) in a 10-0 win over Tahoma in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Friday.
Bailey Martin, Puyallup — Freshman center fielder went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in a Class 4A state consolation win over Juanita, 8-4, on Friday.
Payton McCulloch, Graham-Kapowsin — Leadoff center fielder homered and went 2-for-4 with three RBI, helping lift the Eagles over Juanita, 7-1, in the Class 4A state opening round on Friday.
Sierra Murray, Rogers — The sophomore right-hander’s complete-game one-hitter (7 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K) guided the Rams past Kamiak, 3-1, in the Class 4A state opening round on Friday. Murray added a complete-game shutout (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K) in a consolation win over North Creek, 6-0, later Friday.
Brooklyn Pettit, Graham-Kapowsin — Sophomore right-hander guided Graham-Kapowsin to the 4A state championship game and a runner-up finish. In three state wins over Juanita, Tahoma and Richland, Pettit tossed three complete games (19 IP), allowing three earned runs with eight walks and 36 strikeouts.
Alexa Ramirez, Tahoma — The junior right-hander’s complete-game shutout (7 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 11 K) powered the Bears past Puyallup, 1-0, in the Class 4A state opening round on Friday. Ramirez added a complete-game shutout (7 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 10 K) in a consolation win over West Valley, 7-0, later Friday.
Paisley Steiner, Tahoma — The sophomore’s go-ahead, RBI triple capped a three-run comeback in the seventh inning and lifted Tahoma over Issaquah, 6-5, in a Class 4A state consolation on Saturday. Steiner’s eventual game-winner clinched a top-four finish in the state bracket.
Kalea Yelle, Tahoma — Junior third baseman homered in consecutive Class 4A state consolation wins over West Valley and Rogers, finishing a combined 5-for-7 with two home runs, six runs and six RBI.