Royal City girls stop Mabton twice in fast-pitch

ROYAL CITY - The Royal High School fast-pitch softball team improved to 4-2 with a 9-7, 14-3 sweep at Mabton on Saturday.

The Knights had to hang on late in the first game after building a 9-4 lead.  Mabton had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Knight pitching and defense overcame an error and mental lapses to limit the damage.

Royal batted .386 for the day and racked up 11 hits in each game. Shanna Seely led the hitting with six hits in eight apperances at the plate. Maria Garcia went 4-for-7, Lanea Clouse 4-for-6 and Gladys Meza 3-for-7.

"We made real good contact with the ball," coach Pete Christensen said.

Earlier last week, the Knights had a first-inning collapse that led to a 13-3 non-league defeat against Warden. Royal issued five walks and added three errors and mental breakdowns that led to 10 runs. The two teams battled, 3-3, the rest of the way.

"We ended up with only seven hits in the game, but we were making good contact," coach Christensen said. "We are a better team than the one that started that game, and the girls know it."

Seely and Meza batted 2-for-3 and doubled. Lindsey Christensen, Garcia and Terin Gonzales added singles.

The Knights will use the coming two weeks, including spring break, to work on facets of the game that are troubling. They will return to action on Tuesday, April 12, with a single non-league game at Cle Elum.