Good Tuesday morning. A lot of softball on the ledger this morning and we start with an instant classic last night in Snohomish involving Cedarcrest High School’s ladies.
Red Wolve pitcher Lily Rafferty and her Snohomish counterpart, Abby Edwards, matched each other tit for tat pretty much in what became perhaps the best pitcher’s duel this Wesco Conference has seen in years. The two of them combined for 41 strikeouts in last night’s game, which was decided as one might imagine in dramatic fashion.
In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, Alex Flohr walked it off for Snohomish with a single scoring Rozlynn Girard and giving the Panthers a thrilling 2-1 victory over Cedarcrest at home in Snohomish in a game that perhaps, despite the loss, sent a huge message to the Northwest 2A District about the Red Wolves’ formidability in the upcoming district playoffs.
Both pitchers went the distance with Edwards allowing the one CHS run, unearned, on four hits, walking no one and striking out 23 in her nine innings while Rafferty allowed two runs, one earned, also on four hits, walking two and striking out 18.
The Red Wolves opened the scoring with a run in the second. A fielding error by Edwards enabled Aspen Balzer to score that run, and Rafferty’s magic kept CHS in front from there until the seventh, when with one out, Avery Clark bunted back to Rafferty, who made an error fielding it, and this allowed both Clark to reach and Hannah Siegler to score the tying run. Lola Fryc and Josie Fiala each had two hits for CHS, who is back today, likely with Emma Duke in the circle considering how much work Rafferty did last night, taking on Cascade at 4:00 up at Phil Johnson Complex in south Everett. That field is a turf field so the game will get in regardless of the weather.
Mount Si rebounds, locks up postseason trip: Down 6-1 after three innings, Mount Si High School’s bats woke up and rebounded late, and in doing so locked up a trip to the postseason for the second time in three seasons with a 12-6 win over the woeful Newport Knights last night in Bellevue.
Avery Bielenberg led the way for Mount Si with two doubles, scoring twice and driving a third run for Mount Si. Pitcher Jenna Nowak also did a lot of damage, getting three hits offensively including a double, driving in three runs, and she pitched four perfect innings of relief striking out three for the win.
Things started as noted in the fourth inning, with Bielenberg’s first two-base special scoring Anna Braukus and sparking a three-run frame that got Mount Si back on a good footing to push forward. They did this with three more runs in the sixth; a Nowak single and resulting Knights error scored Maya Engel to put the Wildcats in front for the first time, then Mount Si closed the deal with a five-run seventh anchored by a double from Abby Rowland that drove in both Tori Travers and JV callup Maggie Potoshnik to seal this one shut. Mount Si, at 9-7, is at Eastlake tomorrow looking to gain ground on the teams ahead of them in the standings looking to get the best possible playoff position. They currently sit sixth overall in the conference with that 9-7 league record, with the top six teams earning trips to the district tournament. Newport dropped to 1-15 on the season and is out of the playoff hunt. Allie Barashkoff led the Knights going 2-4 with a run scored and two RBI’s.
The Wildcats’ starting pitcher Bella Scappini allowed three runs in her one inning of work on four hits with a strikeout, then reliever Madison Brand worked two innings allowing three runs herself, two earnd, on five hits with a walk. Nowak then came in and slammed the door shut in this one in the circle allowing Mount Si a chance to make it back into the contest.
Time now for the remainder of Kingco and Wesco action for you. All of our action is powered this morning for you by the folks at GameChanger. Every high school program in Kingco 4A, many of them in Wesco and a lot of your local Little League and travel softball programs rely on GameChanger for their scorekeeping and video streaming efforts. The app is truly a lifeline for families, fans and media alike, as it helps bring the best in youth and high school softball action to everyone. Available now at your favorite app store for phones and tablets.
Eastlake 5, Skyline 4: Lindsay Ferguson and Hannah Lloyd homered for Eastlake as they moved into a tie for second in Kingco 4A with the backyard rivalry win at home over the Spartans last night in Sammamish. Audrey Borup had two hits including a double for the Wolves, scoring a run and driving in two more, while Ferguson’s homer headlined a three-hit effort for the Eastlake senior. She scored a run and drove in three runs, and it all was useful for Addi Baumgartner, and the Wolves ace went 6 2/3 innings allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits, walking four and striking out three for Eastlake, now 11-5 in league play. Piper Swanson had a hit and three RBI’s for Skyline and pitcher Addi McGillis went the distance for the Spartans in this one. The freshman allowed five runs, four earned, on 12 hits, walking four and striking out four for Skyline, now 5-11 in conference and out of the playoff hunt.
Stanwood 10, Mountlake Terrace 0: A homer from Reagan Ryan powered the Spartans to a Wesco home win last night over the Hawks in Stanwood. Rubi Lopez had a hit and walked twice for Stanwood, driving in three runs. Pitcher Eliot McDonald scattered six hits over four innings in a dominant mound performance for the Spartans in a game shortened by the mercy rule after five innings.
Inglemoor 17, North Creek 10: The Vikings are very much out of the playoff chase but no matter, they decided to put on a show with the bats for the fans last night at home in Kenmore. Inglemoor hit a total of six homers in the game, two of them by Gracie Toney. Gabi Toney, Emilie Desiliet, Jade Cisneroz and Shannon Tierney all parked ones over the fence as well for the Vikings, who dropped the Jags into a second-place tie in Kingco 4A with Eastlake as a result of this one. Lexi Saladin went the distance for Inglemoor allowing all 10 NC runs, eight earned, on 12 hits, walking seven and striking out two. Emma Gochenour had three hits pacing the Jags, driving in three runs. North Creek is now 11-5 in conference, as noted tied with the Wolves for second place two games behind first-place Bothell.
Shorewood 6, Marysville-Getchell 4: Shorewood pitcher Emma Kellum guided the StormRays with a solid effort in the circle in their Wesco home win over the Chargers last night in north Seattle. Kellum went the distance allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits, walking two and striking out six. Lillian Perreault led Shorewood with two hits, scoring two runs. Lily Balgos led MG with two hits, including a triple, scoring two runs.
Issaquah 6, Bothell 1: The Cougars seem to be in a bit of a freefall, now having lost their third straight game after starting the season 13-0 in Kingco 4A league play with last night’s loss to the Eagles. Shae Erickson powered Issy, with a homer then went to work going the distance in the circle allowing a run on six hits walking three and striking out 13 as Issy stayed tied for fourth overall in the conference at 10-6 with Redmond. Kolbi Schmer led Bothell with two hits driving in a run and Berlin Roberts went the distance in the circle for the Blue Train in a losing effort, allowing six runs, two earned, on five hits walking three and striking out two. The Cougars are 13-3 and remain tops in Kingco, but are really feeling the loss of ace pitcher Julianne Rose, who has not pitched in a couple of weeks.
Edmonds-Woodway 16, Shorecrest 10: A trio of Warriors had strong offensive performances last night as Ed-Wood won the Wesco slugfest with the Scots in north Seattle. Catie Ingalls led the way for the Warriors, with three hits including a triple, scoring a run and driving in two more. Renee Riggins also had three hits for Ed-Wood, scoring two runs and driving in a third, and Anna Marsh also had three hits for the Warriors, scoring two runs and driving in two more. The offensive support proved useful for pitcher Zoey Glaros, who went the distance despite allowing all 10 Scot runs on 10 hits. She walked 10 but struck out seven. Lyla Ann Taing led Shorecrest, with a double, triple and run scored.
Woodinville 6, Redmond 5: Addi Hagen homered for the Falcons as they surprised the Mustangs last night on the road in Redmond. Alex Olson was 3-4 with a double and run scored for the Falcons, who dropped Redmond into a tie with Issaquah for fourth in Kingco 4A at 10-6 with the result. Woodinville, at 5-11, has been eliminated from the playoffs. Kati Cygan led Redmond going 4-4 with two doubles, a run scored and two RBI’s and pitcher Ainsley Barcalow allowed three runs over five innings of work on eight hits, walking four and striking out seven.
Meadowdale 9, Arlington 4: Homers from Mia Cantu and Hallie Weeks powered the Mavericks to a Wesco home win over the Eagles in Lynnwood. Pitcher Olivia Feistel went the distance for Meadowdale, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hit, walking three and striking out six. Maddie Mitchell paced the Mavericks going 3-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal 