Moses Lake slugs its way to doubleheader sweep of Wenatchee
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake shortstop Savannah Ashley throws to first base for an out.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Paige Valdez rounds third base and heads home for a run against Wenatchee.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Michelle Turner (right) slides into second base safely.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake third baseman Kaylee Valdez throws to first base for an out.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Brooke Richardson's (12) teammates greet her at home plate after a fourth-inning home run against Wenatchee.
MOSES LAKE — According to head coach Mike Hofheins, it's not an “anything you can do, I can do better” situation.
But the fact remains, Brooklyn Bailey and Brooke Richardson can't stop hitting home runs one after the other.
Bailey went deep twice in the opener, Richardson homered once in each game and Moses Lake (11-1, 11-3) swept its doubleheader with Wenatchee 14-1 and 15-5.
“I don't think it's like a competition,” Hofheins said. “They like to hit the ball hard — both of them. When they take batting practice they have this grin on their face and they like to smash it and they're both seeing the ball well.”
The Chiefs survived a wild game on the road Tuesday in which they committed six errors and allowed an eight-run inning. The message on Friday was to be better than they were earlier in the week.
Message received.
No errors in either game led to quick innings, neutralizing the power bats within the Panther lineup.
“We were on fire defensively so that was huge and then of course it builds momentum,” Hofheins said. “It carries over to offense.”
Savannah Ashley's success against Wenatchee continued Friday. After striking out the side in the seventh inning to end the single game on Tuesday, Ashley scattered four hits and gave up just one run on a solo shot by Catrina Russ.
Plenty of run support certainly helped as Bailey hit one out in the first inning and in the second en route to a five-RBI day. Richardson followed suit in the second with her first home run of the twin bill.
“It happened the same way last year,” Richardson said. “She'd hit one, I'd hit one. It's a constant thing.”
In the late game, Moses Lake struck for eight runs in the second inning to build a 12-0 lead. Gina Skinner and Tia Radach highlighted the frame with RBI doubles.
From the circle, Skinner kept hitters off balance with her change-up and only ran into trouble against Wenatchee first baseman Riley Phillips. Phillips left the yard twice, driving in all five of Wenatchee's runs.
Phillips' second bomb scored three runs with two outs in the fifth inning. However, Skinner was able to retire the next batter to preserve the 10-run mercy rule.
“First of all, they swing it. They can hack it. All of them,” Hofheins said. “They're not scared to and the other thing they have that we found out Tuesday is there's no quit in them. As long as they've got an out to give they're going for it.”
Phillips' shot could have done more damage if not for Richardon's three-run blast the inning prior. It was Richardson's third home run of the week.
Still tied with Eastmont atop of the Columbia Basin Big Nine standings, Moses Lake's penultimate season series with Eisenhower begins Tuesday, 4 p.m. at home.
“One game at a time,” Richardson said. “Keep it simple. Our goal is to win.”
Game 1
| W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ML | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | x | 14 |
Highlights:
- Bailey 2 HR, 5 RBI
- Richardson HR, 4 RBI
- Skinner 1 RBI
- Radach 1 RBI
- Michelle Turner 1 RBI
Game 2
| W | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ML | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | x | 15 |
Highlights:
- Richardson HR, 3 RBI
- Radach 2B, 1 RBI
- Skinner 2B, 1 RBI
- Turner 1 RBI
- Kaylee Valdez 1 RBI
- Paige Valdez 1 RBI