Lady Chiefs rally to earn split with Wildcats
Lady Chiefs rally to earn split with Wildcats
MOSES LAKE — Trailing 3-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Moses Lake Lady Chiefs scored three runs as they went on to defeat the Eastmont Wildcats 5-3 and earn a split of a softball doubleheader Wednesday.
In the fourth, Moses Lake put the pressure on the Wildcats' defense by quickly loading the bases to start the inning. From there, the Lady Chiefs executed on the base paths to bring two runners around and tie the game.
With the game tied at three, Shalayne Hunter singled to bring in the go-ahead run, putting Moses Lake up 4-3.
"It was some pretty good baseball right there," said Moses Lake coach Dave Gregory of his team's fourth inning.
Moses Lake added an insurance run in the sixth inning on Samantha Smith's third RBI of the contest. Gregory cited the play of Smith and Shawnee Durbin, who went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, as key to the comeback victory.
Vanessa Hernandez pitched for Moses Lake in the second game, holding Eastmont to just six base hits.
The Lady Chiefs touched up Eastmont for 12 base hits in the second game, but were only able to get the five runs.
"We woke up a little bit," said Gregory of the Lady Chiefs' hitting in the second game. "We should have scored a lot more runs."
In the first game, a 2-1 Moses Lake loss, hits were hard to come by for both teams.
"It was a pitchers' duel there; we just couldn't get the bats going," said the Moses Lake coach.
Smith pitched for the Lady Chiefs in the first game, allowing just seven Eastmont hits.
"Sammy pitched a real good ball game," said Gregory. "She deserved to win it, but that happens."
The difference in the first game was some timely hitting by the Wildcats. Both of Eastmont's runs, scored in the second and third innings, came on two-out doubles.
"They came through in the clutch," remarked Gregory of the Wildcat hitters.
The Lady Chiefs resume Columbia Basin League 4A play this Friday at Richland, with game time scheduled for 4 p.m. Despite a tough early CBL schedule that has the Lady Chiefs 0-4 in league play, Gregory expects good things out of his team this year.
"The kids are coming around to my style," said the first-year Moses Lake coach. "We should make the playoffs no problem."
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