Montesano used its powerful offense to overcome an early deficit in a high-scoring 10-8 home victory over Lakeside on Tuesday.
Montesano (5-3 overall, 2-1 Evergreen 1A) didn’t get off to the start it was hoping for, surrendering three runs in the top of the first inning to the Eagles (3-2, 1-0 Northeast 1A).
Bulldogs pitcher Lindsay Pace struggled with her command in the early going and started the game off by giving up a single, a walk and hitting a batter.
Pace settled down in the second and third frames before getting touched up again for three more runs in the third, two of which came on a home run from Aggie Bennett.
Montesano head coach Pat Pace said Lindsay Pace looked good once she found her groove in the latter innings.
“Lindsay’s nemesis right now is walks and hit batters, but the last two innings she faced six batters and got six outs,” he said. “All she needs to do is keep it low to get ground outs.”
Pace may have had her early struggles, but she wasn’t without run support. After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Montesano responded with a run in the first and four more in the second to take a 5-3 lead.
Pace helped her own cause, driving in Matti Ekerson and Katie Granstrom as part of a four-run rally in the second inning.
When the Bulldogs needed some breathing room while nursing a 8-7 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Madi Campbell came up with a two-run blast to left field to expand Monte’s lead to 10-7.
Campbell said she knew she would get something hit since Lakeside pitcher Saddie Sonnabend had been around the plate for most of the day.
“When I was watching her pitch I noticed she was consistently throwing strikes, so I was just looking for contact,” she said. “That’s all I was looking for when I got up there, but I was proud of the hit.”
Campbell is a new addition to the roster and had only had two at-bats at the varsity level entering play on Tuesday.
She said she hasn’t had to adjust her game too much since being called up to the varsity roster and said she tries to keep the same energy no matter the level she’s playing on.
“You play at the same level and bring the same intensity to anywhere you are,” she said. “It’s a higher standard, but either way you’re bringing the same intensity and the same fire that you did on junior varsity.”
Montesano will get a week off before returning to action on Thursday, April 9 when the Bulldogs resume league play with a home game against Tenino.
Coach Pace said he was pleased with the offensive output but is still waiting for his team to perform at a higher level in all aspects of the game.
“You have to have three things: Offense, defense and pitching. Something has to work and our offense worked for us today,” he said. “I think we can match a lot of teams, but I’d like to have the defense and pitching to help out.”
Lakeside 301 310 0 – 8 5 2
Montesano 143 200 x – 10 11 1
WP – Pace (5 H, 8 K, 7 BB); LP – Sonnabend (10 ER, 4 K)
Top Hitters: Montesano – Campbell (HR, 2 RBI), Lindsay Pace (2 RBI, BB), Emma Jensen (2 RBI); Lakeside – Bennett (2 R, HR, 3 RBI), Olivia Charbonneau (2 RBI)
Naches Valley 18, Ocosta 8
Ocosta fell behind early to a strong Naches Valley team and never recovered in an 18-8 loss on Tuesday at Dorland Park in Westport.
The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead capped by Allison Vecker’s home run and followed that up with a nine-spot in the second inning, effectively putting the game out of Ocosta’s reach.
Down 11-0, the Wildcats rallied to get back in the game with six runs in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a run-scoring double from Evalyn Marsh and an RBI single off the bat of Emily Snider.
After Ocosta cut the lead to 11-8 with two runs in the fourth inning, the Rangers responded with seven runs combined in the fifth and sixth to earn the 18-8 victory.
“Naches is a well-seasoned team and did a great job centering up the ball,” Ocosta head coach Jason Barnum said.
Naches Valley’s Lacee Fridley earned the win, allowing eight runs — all earned — on 10 hits and three strikeouts for the Rangers.
Ocosta’s Ronni Graham took the loss, allowing eight earned runs on six hits in 1 ⅓ innings pitched.
Wildcats shortstop Kaylee Barnum went 3-for-3 with two runs scored while Mekenna Fletcher led Ocosta with three runs driven in on the day.
Marsh and Snider each drove in two runs for the Wildcats.
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
NV 290 043 — 18 16 0
Ocosta 060 200 — 8 10 2
WP — Fridley (6 IP, 8 ER, 10 H, 3 K, BB); LP — Graham ·(1.1 IP, 8 ER, 6 H, 2 BB)
Top Players: Ocosta — Barnum (3-3, 2B, 2 R); Fletcher (2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI); Marsh (2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI); Graham (2-4, 2B, R); Snider (1-4, R, 2 RBI). NV — Vecker (4-5, HR, 4 R, 4 RBI); Audrey Kime (2-4, 2 R, 6 RBI).
Other Scores
Monday’s games
