Mount Si’s softball ladies get their playoff run started tonight, too. Previewing and predicting their opener with Inglemoor…..

Now to softball. This has not been the easiest season for the Mount Si High School softball team, as they have had to weather significant challenges by their very young pitching staff, the youngest in this conference. But these ladies accomplished something very significant last week when it seemed as if they weren’t going to get this opportunity – a trip to the playoffs. So with that boost in confidence comes the playoff opener tonight, and it will not be an easy chore for sure.

In this file photo, Mount Si High School softball player Ally Hetzel (front center) swings at a pitch from Inglemoor High School pitcher Jillian Starosky (back center) during a game earlier this season between the two teams at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie. Hetzel hit a home run in the Wildcats’ 8-7 loss, and the two teams meet again tonight in the first round of the Kingco 4A playoffs. (Rhett Workman/SVSJ)

KINGCO 4A SOFTBALL
KINGCO 4A TOURNAMENT, OPENING ROUND
MOUNT SI WILDCATS AT INGLEMOOR VIKINGS
INGLEMOOR HIGH SCHOOL, KENMORE, 7:00 P.M. FIRST PITCH

The Wildcats and Vikings square off tonight in what is in essence a road game for Mount Si, as Inglemoor once again is hosting the Kingco 4A tournament this spring at their campus in Kenmore. Inglemoor swept the season series from Mount Si, taking the games 12-2 and 8-7 on back-to-back days last month.

The Wildcats come in at 7-14 on the season and finished as the eighth overall seed in Kingco (6-12 league record), and boast one of the league’s most potent offenses. It is led by a dangerous duo in sophomores Ally Hetzel and Anna Braukus. Hetzel is hitting .556 this spring with 11 home runs and 35 RBI’s, while Braukus is running at a cool .521 clip with eight homers and 26 RBI’s. Two of this conference’s top hitters, and that is certainly good news. But there’s a couple of other players to also keep an eye on. Junior outfielder Addison Craig is also hitting better than .500, .514 to be exact, and has a team-leading 10 stolen bases.

With Craig’s speed on the basepaths, that puts some pressure on opposing pitchers, making it even better for Mount Si’s offense. Audrey Simmons is also making some noise late in the season. She is hitting .325 this spring, and that is fantastic considering she started 1-9 and with very limited opportunity during the first eight games of the season. But she had a 4-5 outing in a game April 17 against North Creek, and that seems to have sparked the sophomore, who is currently on a three-game hitting streak.

Wildcat pitching has had big challenges this year, and their team ERA shows it – it’s over 10. So whoever it is Mount Si sends to the circle, whether that be freshmen Avery Bielenberg, Georgia Dennis or Bella Scappini, chances are good it’s going to be a difficult task once again. Especially as this Inglemoor offense is loaded. The Toney sisters are doing very well for themselves leading the black and gold. Gabi’s got seven homers and 23 RBI’s while Gracie has five and 22 of her own respectively. Gabi is hitting .500, Gracie is hitting .338 and both of them have been very tough customers all season against Kingco pitchers. Keep an eye as well on Alexa Saladin and Jade Cisneroz. The two sophomores are both hitting better than .300 for the Vikings and each of them is capable of hitting homers and driving in runs. The team as a whole, anchored by the Toneys’ strong hitting, is hitting .311 on the season with 15 homers and 138 RBI’s, not a good combination we think for this Mount Si freshman pitching group.

But Inglemoor’s pitching has had its challenges too. Sophomore Jillian Starosky has gotten the lion share of the work this spring, but has a 6.35 earned run average and opposing hitters are hitting .355 off her this season. So, it seems like this is one of those games where a wild card might be a big factor. Well, Mount Si has a big one. Clara Connor.

The freshman pitcher is 3-1 on the season with a 5.25 earned run average, and while that ERA probably doesn’t sound good at all and she’s walked 22 hitters, averaging one walk an inning (she has thrown a little over 22 innings this spring), the numbers ERA-wise have her as the best option from the Wildcat pitching corps, and the walks are owed to the idea she focuses on hitting her target and not trying to throw harder than anyone else. Remember, we have discussed this about Connor as of late that her pitching style being much different than the normal hard-throwing style that most Kingco pitchers utilize makes her an effective counterweight that will force hitters to make adjustments to their timing and other preparation on the fly.

So if Connor gets to pitch and is able to locate her pitches effectively and keep those walks to an absolute minimum, this could end up being a big, big factor for scarlet and gray. Also remember that she just completed arguably the most courageous performance by a Wildcat pitcher since the 2004 3A SeaKing District Tournament no-hitter against Blanchet by legendary ace Kandis Clesson in Mount Si’s win last Wednesday over Eastlake (6 2/3 innings in relief, two runs allowed on seven hits walking four and striking out two against a really solid Wolves offense) that helped lock up this playoff berth. So this young lady knows pressure and has been able to weather that storm.

This game shapes up potentially to be a very competitive, offensive-filled show. But Mount Si, in Connor, has the ace in the hole, and if they have to deploy it and it is successful, the Wildcats and their freshmen will accomplish something else very big – a trip to districts. And that is something that just a few weeks ago we would have been called crazy for suggesting was possible.

MOUNT SI 10, INGLEMOOR 9