Chiefs host Othello, Royal in jamboree

MOSES LAKE — Just a couple of weeks after wrapping up slow pitch, Moses Lake High School fast pitch softball took the field on Saturday afternoon, hosting Othello High School and Royal High School at MLHS’ new softball field for a jamboree ahead of Tuesday’s season opener.

Each team got three innings against the other two. Moses Lake started the action against Othello High School.

The Chiefs were outscored 4-3 in their opening three-inning set. Madi Olson, Taylor Hofheins and Laurissa Martinez each finished 1-2 in the game with an RBI apiece. Sydney Ries scored a pair of runs on a 1-1 day at the plate. Raegan Hofheins and Laurissa Martinez hit doubles in the opening jamboree match.

Brenna Rangel, Morgan Ross and Annalyse Hernandez each served an inning on the mound, while senior pitcher Harley Raymond was sidelined with an injury. Ross, making her varsity debut, threw a pair of strikeouts.

In the second game, against Royal, Moses Lake was outscored 3-2. Madi Olson, Laurissa Martinez, Sydney Ries, Rylie Sanchez and Jazlynn Torres all gained hits for the Chiefs.

Morgan Ross, Brenna Rangel and Jaidyn Melby combined for seven strikeouts, each pitching an inning.

Olson, a senior, said it’s a quick turnaround moving from slow pitch to fast pitch in such a short time.

“But this past week has been good for us just to practice all together and see who we have and what we’re working with,” she said.

Olson said it’s nice starting out with a jamboree and not having to worry about wins and losses as the team brushes off the cobwebs. She said seeing some different pitching and different hitters defensively is good practice before the season opener on Tuesday.

With a lot of younger players stepping into the rotation this spring, senior Taylor Hofheins said the Chiefs have a lot of young talent and just need to work through some of the early varsity jitters.

“Some of the things you don’t think about every pitch or just come naturally to you, they don’t come naturally to them so you kind of have to mentor them a little bit and remind them of a few things because it slips their brains,” Taylor Hofheins said.

She said it’s just a matter of picking up the underclassmen after a mistake and cheering them on from the sidelines to help build that confidence, adding she’s enjoying having her younger sister, Raegan Hofheins, out on the field beside her this season.

“I love playing with her and we have good chemistry on the field and outside of the field,” Taylor Hofheins said. “It’s fun playing out there with her.”

Chiefs head coach Mike Hofheins said the jamboree was the perfect opportunity to get some of the younger girls’ “feet wet” before the spring season. He said this unique year also offers a great chance for his senior leaders to carry on the rich softball tradition at MLHS.

“We always talk about leaving a legacy, what a perfect opportunity with this year and no postseason for us to kind of work towards continuing what we’re all about,” Mike Hofheins said.

He said the Chiefs will be young this season, but have a lot of good talent that just needs to improve week by week. With Raymond sidelined, Hofheins said the team has four good pitchers to rely on and will see who steps into that number-one role as the season rolls on.

Hofheins said he was happy with his pitching and defense in the jamboree, not making any silly errors, and added it was all stuff to build on. The Chiefs begin the season in earnest on Tuesday when Moses Lake hosts Wenatchee at 4 p.m.

Casey McCarthy can be reached via email at cmccarthy@columbiabasinherald.com.