When east and west come together on a fastpitch diamond, the recent results have been trophies.

With a roster loaded with East Valley and West Valley players, the Yakima Diamond Cats won their second straight National Softball Association Washington 16U/18U state championship Sunday with a dominating weekend in Kennewick.

Later this month, Yakima (14-4) will head to Nashville for a national tournament.

The Diamond Cats outscored their opponents 42-6 in six victories at the Southridge Sports and Events Complex. Hitting, pitching and defense came together.

“We had all three phases working,” Yakima coach Casey Johnson said.

It started on the mound for the Diamond Cats.

Starters Elise Heater and Brooklynn Root, both juniors-to-be for the Red Devils, combined to allow just three earned runs in 28 innings of work.

Heater, who pitched a six-inning no-hitter in the first of two games Sunday against the Western Washington-based Avengers, struck out 21 batters in 16 innings, while giving up just seven hits.

Root fanned 10 in 12 innings, and gave up just one earned run.

West Valley graduate Ainlsey Johnson, the coach’s daughter and the CBBN MVP, closed three of the games with a scoreless inning in each. Bound for Columbia Basin College, she struck out five while walking none and giving up just one hit.

“We’ve been very blessed,” the coach said. “Our pitching staff is hard to beat.”

Backing that pitching was a defense that overcame blustery conditions, and committed six errors, with none in two of the contests. Opponents committed 18 errors.

“We struggled early in the year, but since then, especially this weekend, we’ve played really well,” Johnson said. “It was kind of ironic – I don't think we made a single error in the outfield with 40 mile-an-hour winds.”

At the plate, the Diamond Cats came up with 55 hits, with 19 of them for extra bases, and scored 10 or more runs in three games.

Individual local highlights included:

• Sophiya Castaneda (East Valley, class of 2026): 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 8 runs

• Madi Statler (West Valley, ’26): 7-13, home run, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 5 runs

• Danika Gaethle (West Valley, ’26): double, 5 RBI

• Calleigh Sinnes (West Valley, ’27: triple, double, 5 RBI, 4 runs

• Ashleigh James (West Valley, ’27): double, RBI, 3 runs

• Lilli Van Wagoner (Naches Valley, ’28): 4-10, triple, RBI

• Root (East Valley, ’28): 8-15, 4 doubles, 6 runs

Other players include Lauren Lewis (West Valley), Leila Cook (East Valley), Kodie Rasmussen (Cascade of Everett) and Abby Volk (Graham-Kapowsin).

Johnson has been coaching the team since 2017, and he’s willing to coach one more year, as most of the roster could return.

“We had that conversation,” he said. “I would love to come back for one more year, after that I’m done. It’s been a long time.”