Lady Cruisers' Season Ends Where It Started, With a Loss to North Mason

The North Mason Bulldogs closed the Eatonville Lady Cruisers' season the same way they opened it, with a shutout.

The 2026 Lady Cruiser fastpitch team posed for a photo together one last time after their season ending loss at the 2026 Disttrict 3 playoffs. Photo: Heather Quirie

Eatonville fell 17-0 to North Mason in a district playoff game Friday at the Regional Athletic Complex, ending the Lady Cruisers' season at 10-8 overall. The loss mirrored the teams' first meeting back in March a 15-0 Bulldog victory that set the tone for what would become a full-circle finish.

Despite the lopsided final, head coach Jen Smith said the scoreboard did not capture how much her team had grown between those two meetings.

"We started our season off with North Mason and ended with them," Smith said. "Neither game went our way, but what the score didn't show was the extreme growth that had happened between the two games."

North Mason put the game out of reach almost immediately. The Bulldogs erupted for four runs in the bottom of the first inning on three singles after three straight walks to load the bases, sending a clear message from the opening frame. They added another run in the second on a sacrifice fly to push the lead to five before the Lady Cruisers even found their footing.

The third inning buried Eatonville for good. North Mason sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits. A solo home run to center field, a two-run double, a run-scoring walk and another run-scoring double highlighted the barrage. The Bulldogs added five more runs in the fourth on five hits, capped by a two-run home run to center field and a costly error that allowed another run to score. The game ended after five innings with North Mason ahead 17-0.

Lilah Chapman and Kenney provided the offensive bright spots for the Lady Cruisers, each collecting two hits in the contest. Eatonville finished with five hits total but stranded runners and failed to push any across.

"In the district game we were hitting the ball but right at people," Smith said. "The hits we did have, we were unsuccessful to score."

Starter Lavergne absorbed the loss, going four innings and allowing 17 runs, 16 earned, on 17 hits. She struck out two and walked six. On the other side, North Mason's pitcher was virtually untouchable, working five innings while giving up just five hits and no runs, striking out seven and walking one.

Smith pointed to defensive improvement as one of the genuine positives from the postseason appearance, even in defeat.

"Defensively, we didn't walk as many batters and we stopped balls from becoming multiple base hits," she said. "We took care of the ball."

That growth was real. The Lady Cruisers committed just one error on the day, and the effort and composure the program built across the season was evident to those who had watched them from the start.

The loss eliminated Eatonville from the district tournament bracket and brought their 2026 campaign to a close. For several players, it was the final time they would wear a Lady Cruiser uniform.

Smith made clear that the ending carried particular weight because of the seniors it took with it.

"Our season ended too soon for our seniors," she said. "After our game it hit a little too hard. Amy, Aubs, and Kenney will be missed."

The 10-8 record represents a program that competed, won more than it lost and finished with a postseason appearance. Eatonville's young players will carry the experience of playing in the district bracket into next season, with the memory of where this group started and how far it traveled before North Mason sent them home again.

The Bulldogs bookended the Lady Cruisers' year the same way they began it. But between those two losses, Eatonville built something worth remembering.