Whitney's walk off gives Warden win

WARDEN - The first round of the SCAC 1A District Tournament is as good a time as any for first career home runs.

That was the case for two Warden Cougars Tuesday afternoon as Brenna Whitney and Andrea Contreras both sent shots over the left field fence to cap a seven-run fifth inning that helped give Warden an 11-1 victory over Cle Elum-Roslyn.

Brenna Whitney's two-run homer clinched the win for the Cougars.

"It felt great," she said. "Never hit a home run before so it felt good to hit one and win the game."

Warden (10-2, 18-2) entered Tuesday's game as the No. 2 seed out of the SCAC East and were matched up against Cle Elum-Roslyn (9-3, 14-6), the No. 3 seed from the SCAC West.

The two teams previously met in Warden May 17 and the Cougars were able to take both games by scores of 10-1 and 15-8.

Whatever momentum the Warriors thought they had built after plating eight runs against the Cougars last week was squelched by ace pitcher Aaliyah Enriquez.

Enriquez allowed one hit, one unearned run and struck out seven batters in five innings.

The Cougars took an early 2-0 lead after the first inning when Lexy Pruneda scored on a double by Brenna. Brenna eventually reached home after errors by the Warrior defense.

Warden was able to tack on one run each in the second and third innings, but head coach Wes Richins was concerned with the amount of strikeouts and pop outs his team was committing.

"Their pitcher throws strikes and moves it around really well and that kind of gave us some fits earlier on in the game and then we made some adjustments," he said. "But that was a good pitcher for us to see 'cause that's what we're going to see on Saturday."

Cle Elum-Roslyn notched one unearned run in the fifth inning which seemed to ignite the Cougar bats.

The rally began with a double by Enriquez and a BryLee Whitney bunt that discombobulated the Warrior defense. With one run already across, Contreras sent a three run blast over the left field fence that broke the game open for Warden.

"It was a close game until the end and that's what we needed," Richins said. "It's a different game when it's a one-run game. A little bit different pressure and we needed that because we haven't had a lot of that this year and so they gave us a good fight."

Shania Kisler drove in a run on a bunt single and Brenna hit her first career home run to secure the win.

"That was the first home runs they've hit all year, those kids (Contreras and Brenna)," Richins said. "So it was really neat to see them come through in the clutch like that ... We did come alive there at the end and that was nice to get out of this."

Richins and the Cougars were glad to force the abbreviated game as the team is dealing with some nagging injuries.

Brenna had a career day, going 3 for 4 with three runs a double and a home run. Kisler was a terror on the base paths and finished with three stolen bases.

Warden will face River View (7-5, 13-7) in the semifinals on May 24 at West Valley (Yakima) High School. A team the Cougars beat twice on May 6.

A seven-run inning that included two home runs to clinch a first round win should help as Warden looks to secure a state berth,

"It should pump us up and give us more confidence going into the second round of districts Saturday in Yakima," Brenna said.