Moses Lake drops nightcap at Southridge
KENNEWICK — After ending a string of doubleheader splits with a resounding sweep of Davis last week the Moses Lake Chiefs were revisited by an unwelcome friend Friday afternoon.
After pulling out a 7-5 win at Southridge in game one of the teams’ doubleheader the hosts Suns scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning of the nightcap to salvage — yep — a split in an 8-4 win.
In the first game win, Moses Lake scored four runs in the seventh inning to rally from a 5-3 deficit.
In the rally, Lacey Padilla led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed by Candice Vela who would be safe on a Southridge error. Marina Rubio was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Tasha Gentry.
Gentry then doubled in two runs and Katie Martinez singled home the final two runs for the win.
All the runs were scored with two outs.
Moses Lake pitcher Karly Stoltman pitched seven innings for the win, giving up only one earned run, while striking out 11.
“Karly pitched a great game,” Moses Lake coach Dave Gregory said. “We just need to play better defense.”
Padilla went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
In the second game, Gentry went 2-for-3 and Holly Perry finished 2-for-2 against the Suns.
“We hit the ball well against one of best pitchers in the league,” Gregory said.
Warden 4-10, Royal 0-0
WARDEN — As big as a sweep can get, the Warden Lady Cougars may have announced they are truly back as a force to reckon with.
Warden battled South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) East rivals Royal on Saturday and took two from the visiting Lady Knights 4-0 and 10-0 to stay in the hunt for a post-season bid.
Warden (7-3, 3-1) won the opener behind a three-hit pitching performance of Randi Wright which included seven strikeouts.
The Lady Cougars scored one run in each of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth inning as they pulled away from Royal (2-4, 2-2).
We did a good job advancing runners and then getting them home,” Warden coach Wes Richins said. “The girls really did a good job at doing their job at the plate and on the base paths.”
Iris Rodriguez hit a double, Bianca Hernandez scored two runs, and Crystal Chavez brought home two RBIs in the win.
Royal fell behind big early as Warden scored five in the bottom of the first inning and would roll from there.
Wright pitched for the mercy-rule win, recording six strikeouts while allowing four hits.
“Randi again kept the Royal batters off balance to record her third shut out of the year,” Richins said. “She helped herself at the plate and scored four runs.”
Wright went 2-for-4 with a double, while Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with three doubles while Liz Pruneda and Cassondra Platas each knocked out a two-bagger apiece.
“Sometimes defense doesn’t get the credit it deserves, but today our defense needs to be given the game ball since the team really stepped it up,” Richins said. “We made several tough plays on defense, and Randi did her job on the mound. Whether it was Tawnie Gonsalez making an awesome catch at center, or Cassondra Platas robbing a base hit at second or Bianca Hernandez gunning down a would be base stealer, I am just proud of the posse they played with today.”
Warden’s sweep was also impressive considering it came against a proud program that has just recently hit some tough times.
“Our girls probably don’t realize the rich tradition that Royal softball has,” Richins said. “That is good because their was no intimidation factor today and we just played our game”
Othello 6-8, Prosser 7-5
PROSSER — Othello dropped its first game of the season in the opener of their doubleheader at Prosser on Friday before bouncing back to split the two-game set.
Othello lost the opener 7-6 as a late seventh-inning rally fell short, but they captured the nightcap with an 8-5 victory.