Moses Lake slowpitch softball team takes a couple from Davis

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake slowpitch softball team extended its winning streak to 10 games with a sweep of Davis on Tuesday afternoon.

The Chiefs (11-3, 11-3 CBBN) didn’t get much challenge from the winless Pirates (0-13,0-13), taking the first game of the Columbia Basin Big Nine doubleheader 15-0 in four innings and the second 13-0 in five innings.

They did manage to get some work in and play a little situational ball when they had the chance.

Davis finally did get runners aboard in the fourth inning in the second game after going seven scoreless innings to that point. When the Pirates filled the bases with one out, Chiefs coach head coach Mike Hofheins brought his infield in looking for a double play.

“Let’s go, home to first. Make it happen,” he said.

They didn’t turn the double play, but they did snuff the run at the plate and post a couple of shutouts on the day with steady defense.

Hadleigh Cranston hit a grand slam for the big blast in the second game. The Moses Lake sophomore turned on a fastball (not really), but she made a nice swing and the ball hit the top of the fence in left-center field and carried over for the grand slam.

Brooke Richardson, the CBBN Offensive Player of the Year during the fastpitch season this past spring, had a solo shot in the first inning. She also had a double that hit that same spot on top of the fence as Cranston’s jack, but didn’t get the same love when it bounced back into the field of play as she strolled in to second for the double.

“Hitting in this game is about waiting, like a changeup in fastpitch,” said Richardson, who went 4-for-4 in both games. “It’s the same swing as far as mechanics, nothing’s changed.

(Slowpitch) has been a lot of fun. Our team is about family and we’ve all been playing together for a long time. This gives players that might not get a chance to play fastpitch a chance to be a part of Chiefs softball.”

This is the first season of CBBN slowpitch softball and it took the Chiefs a little bit to figure things out. They got ripped, 26-17, in the first-ever game with West Valley before bouncing back to earn the split in the nightcap. They were swept by league-leading Wenatchee in the second doubleheader of the year with a couple of straight-forward losses.

But they haven’t lost since Sept. 26 and they are currently on a 10-game winning streak, including a sweep of the Panthers last week. The month long season culminates with a league tournament and the Chiefs are on board for hoisting the first trophy.

“We started off kind of rough, but we’ve grown as a team,” Sjuana Rose said. “It’s a whole different game than fastball and it took awhile to learn how to wait on the pitch. It’s definitely been a lot of fun and a great experience.”

The Chiefs finish up the regular season today with a twin bill in Yakima against Eisenhower. The tournament begins on Oct. 24 at West Valley.