Chiefs softball rallies to beat Wenatchee
MOSES LAKE - Things looked pretty bleak for the Chiefs last night as they were down to their last three outs trailing 8-4 going into the bottom of the seventh inning in the game against the Panthers at Larson Field.
But Moses Lake rallied for 6 runs, capped off by a walk-off two-run home by Brianna Valdez to pull out an improbable 10-6 win over Wenatchee.
The victory improves the Chiefs to 9-1 in Big 9 league play, and 11-4 overall with five games left in the regular season.
"This was a huge win for us," coach Dave Gregory said. "Wenatchee is a talented team and always comes to play."
The Panthers put two runs on the board in the top of the first inning, and added three in the top of the third to race out to a 5-0 lead.
Moses Lake, feeling the heat, answered back with four runs in the bottom of the inning to get within one, 5-4.
Neither team scored in the fourth inning, but the Panthers brought a runner across the plate in the top of the fifth, and two in the top of the sixth to increase their lead to 8-4.
The Chiefs failed to score in the bottom of the frame, but held Wenatchee off the board in the Panthers half of the seventh.
Down to the last three outs, it looked as though Moses Lake was going to have to concede defeat. But there was no quit in the Chiefs. Brianna Hoffman, the teams' No. 9 batter reached base on a single to give Moses Lake hope.
A single by Haile Bishop put runners on first and second with no outs. Then up stepped Tressa Radach who went yard to push three runs across the plate and get the Chiefs back in it, 8-7.
Jazmyn Jesse kept things going with a hard shot down the third baseline to reach first. A single by Haylie VanLaethem moved Jesse to second.
Sadee Smigaj's sacrifice bunt scored pinch-runner Allison Weaver who came in to run for Jesse to tie the game 8-8, and move VanLaethem into scoring position.
With one out, Valdez planted herself in the batters box, found the pitch she was looking for, and blasted the ball over the center field fence for a walk-off two-run home run to end the game, 10-8 and complete the come-from-behind win for Moses Lake.
"It was an unbelievable finish," Gregory said. "It's was great for the fans, but kind of hard on the coaches."
VanLaethem went the distance in the circle, giving up eight runs, two of which were unearned, to record the win.
"Haylie wasn't on top of her game tonight and we didn't play great defense as we committed four errors," Gregory said. "But we did enough to pull out the win and we'll take it."
The Chiefs are back in action Friday when Moses Lake travels to Wenatchee for a doubleheader against the Panthers. The Chiefs are back at home May 7 for a single came against Eisenhower, then hit the road to Yakima May 10 for a twin bill against the Cadets to close out the regular season.