Aberdeen appeared to be on the way to a season-opening victory, but Mother Nature had other plans as umpires called the game in the bottom of the third inning due to rain with the Bobcats leading 4-1 over River Ridge on Monday.
Aberdeen scored all of its runs in the second inning, but the game was not official since a full five innings were not completed.
The Bobcats took advantage of three River Ridge errors in the second frame, which allowed Sierra Hammond, Allye Troseth, Jalyn McDaniel and Logan Glanz to contribute an RBI apiece in the rally.
Aberdeen’s Logan Glanz slides safely into second base in the second inning against River Ridge. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group) Aberdeen’s Logan Glanz slides safely into second base in the second inning against River Ridge. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Aberdeen head coach Scott Wilson is still tinkering with his lineup and was disappointed he didn’t get more time to evaluate his players.
“It’s frustrating. I knew the ground wasn’t going to hold water for very long at all,” he said. “We were lucky to get the three innings in that we got in, to be honest.”
The pitching performance of Kacie Powell also made it difficult for Wilson to assess his defense. Powell didn’t allow the Hawks to put the ball in play often as every out Powell recorded came via strikeout.
Aberdeen’s Kacie Powell delivers a pitch in the second inning against against River Ridge. Powell struck out seven batters in 2.1 innings of work. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group) Aberdeen’s Kacie Powell delivers a pitch in the second inning against River Ridge. Each of Powell’s seven recorded out came via strikeout. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Infielders and outfielders didn’t have many opportunities to field the ball with the short number of innings and the high number of strikeouts. New starting catcher Hammond, however, had a busy day behind the plate. Hammond said she felt she and Powell were developing a good chemistry before rain ended the contest early.
“I actually felt really comfortable behind the plate and we played a good game overall,” she said.
Weather permitting, Aberdeen will head to Olympia to play Capital on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
With less than three full innings under their belt, Wilson said his lineup is far from solidified and is hoping his players keep battling to get on the field.
“I was pretty happy with what I put out there, but there are kids sitting on the bench every day that are fighting to step on the field,” he said. “It could be different every game. We’ve been preaching that they need to come out here and compete every day.”
River Ridge 100 – 1 2 3
Aberdeen 04x – 4 1 0
Starting pitchers: Aberdeen – Powell (2.1 IP, ER, 7 K, 3 BB); River Ridge – Jade Greer (2 IP, 2 ER, 4 BB)
Top Hitters: Aberdeen – Powell (H), Hammond (R, RBI)
PWV 21, Onalaska 6
Britney Patrick and Olivia Mattlock hit back-to-back home runs as the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans smacked 13 hits in a 21-6 opening-day rout of Onalaska on Monday at Onalaska High School.
Though the Titans were thrown a curveball before the game even started when it was determined Monday morning that their home field was currently in an unplayable condition due to the weather.
But the Titans shrugged it off, looking in mid-season form with the bats as PWV scored a combined 18 runs in the third and fourth innings to earn a four inning, mercy-rule victory.
Patrick went 3-for-4 with four RBI and smaked a 3-run home run in the third inning.
She was followed by freshman Olivia Mattlock, who went back-to-back with Patrick, hitting a solo home run in the Titans’ 10-run third inning.
PWV’s Katelyn McGough and Presley Peterson also collected two hits apiece as the Titans totalled 13 hits in the shortened game.
“We obviously can hit,” PWV head coach Ken Olson said. “But we shouldn’t have three errors and the kids know it. But it’s the first game and there are jitters. It was a good start.”
PWV faces Raymond in a doubleheader at Raymond High School starting at noon on Saturday.
PWV 03(10) 8 — 21 13 3
Onalaska 202 2 — 6 5 4
WP — Kamryn Adkins (3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K); LP — Henderson
Top Players: PWV — McGough (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Patrick (3-4, 3R-HR, 4 RBI), Mattlock (2-2, HR, 2B, 2 RBI), Peterson (2-4).
—Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
PREP BASEBALL
Montesano 8, Rochester 2
Payson Parker changed the momentum with one swing of the bat as his solo homer kicked off a scoring eruption in Montesano’s season-opening 8-2 win at Rochester on Monday.
Parker’s home run was the first run of a six-run rally in the fifth inning that allowed the Bullodgs to put the game out of reach.
Monte also benefited from solid performances on the mound from starter Ben Wills and Trace Ridgway, who came on in relief.
Montesano head coach Mike Osgood said he was proud of the way everyone contributed to the victory in despite the wet conditions.
“Pitching was the difference for us. It kept us in the game early and once we scored those runs, (our pitchers) minimized opportunities,” he said. “With the weather and field conditions it got a little sloppy and we had a few errors and mental mistakes. But, everybody contributed to the win and we got back to playing our brand of baseball, which I was very pleased with.”
Montesano will face Shelton on the road on Wednesday in its next matchup. First pith is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Rochester 000 002 0 – 2 4 2
Montesano 000 260 0 – 8 7 2
WP — Ben Wills (4 IP, 5 BB, 6 K, H); LP — Nolan Eyles (1 IP, 3 BB, K, 2H, HR)
Top Players: Montesano – Parker (HR), Teegan Zillyet (2-2, 2 BB), Aaron Lano (2-4); Rochester – Tyler Soderback (2-R HR).
Elma 9, North Mason 4
The Eagles opened the season with a 9-4 victory over North Mason on Monday in Belfair.
Elma (1-0 overall) did most of its damage in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring a combined eight runs over the two frames to take a commanding 9-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth.
The Eagles scored three runs in the fourth inning, two of those coming off a Brady Shriver double that gave Elma a 3-1 advantage.
Raiden Aho followed with a run-scoring single to give Elma a 4-1 lead.
In Elma’s five-run fifth, the Eagles loaded the bases with no outs before run-scoring singles from Noah Huttula, Shriver and Tysen Richardson did most of the damage.
“We got off to a good start and North Mason played some good defense on us after that,” Elma head coach Jim Hill said. “We got rolling in the fourth and fifth. We couldn’t score late but a couple of nice big innings is always good.”
Starting pitcher Cobey Moore picked up the win for Elma, allowing two earned runs on three hits in four innings of work.
The Eagles are scheduled to host North Mason at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Elma 100 350 0 — 9 11 1
North Mason 100 120 0 — 4 6 1
WP — Moore (4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB); LP — Fisher (IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 5 BB).
Top Players: Elma — Shriver (3-3, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Justin Elliott (2-3, 2B, R, RBI), Aho (2-4, RBI), Richardson (1-3, 2 RBI), Huttula (2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI); NM — North (2-4, 3 RBI).
—Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Onalaska 4, PWV 0
Onalaska’s Tristen Lawrence allowed just one hit in three innings of work as the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans were shutout 4-0 in a season-opening loss to the Loggers on Monday at Onalaska High School.
PWV (0-1) managed just four hits in the non-league contest against a team that Titans head coach Kelly Barnum believes will be a contender.
“They are a very good Central League team that will probably make a run at a district title,” Barnum said. “It was a good test to tell us where we are at in the beginning of the season and I’m happy with what I saw.”
Though the Titans didn’t get the result they wanted, Barnum said he was pleased with how well his team played defense.
“We played really well on defense, which I thought we would,” Barnum said, alluding his team returning its entire starting defense.
PWV second baseman Frank Roonsburg turned a double play in the first inning after making a full-extension diving catch on a line drive.
In the sixth inning, PWV outfielder Hudson Barnum made a sliding catch down the first-base line for the second Titans defensive highlight of the game.
A trio of pitchers took the mound for PWV, pitching two innings apiece as Coach Barnum used the non-league contest to get some work in for his pitching staff.
“We spent the first two weeks of practice getting our defense ready and our pitchers’ arms in shape and that’s going to pay dividends,” he said. “And it showed tonight.”
The Titans take on Raymond in a doubleheader starting at noon on Saturday at Raymond High School.
PWV 000 000 0 — 0 4 1
Onalaska 000 013 0 — 4 10 0
WP — Lawrence (4 IP, H, 3 K); LP — Kobe Hoffman (2 IP, 3 H, R, 3 K).
Top Players: PWV — Max Smith (2-3), Luke Gerow (1-2), Kollin Jurek (1-3).
—Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
