Montesano and Aberdeen closed out their regular-season schedules as we review Twin Harbors prep softball games.
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PREP SOFTBALL
Montesano 3, Adna 1
Montesano beat Adna in a pre-district tune-up game 3-1 on Saturday at Montesano High School.
In a battle of two perennial state champions, the Bulldogs (16-5 overall) took the early lead on the Pirates (13-5) when leadoff hitter Liv Robinson reached on a dropped third strike and later came in to score on an error in the bottom of the first inning.
In the bottom of the third, Monte loaded the bases with one out, but a lack of execution resulted in the Bulldogs leaving three runners stranded with the score remaining 1-0.
It wouldn’t stay that way for long as center fielder Adda Potts reached base with a one-out single in the fourth.
First baseman Kylie Wisdom was then hit by a pitch and replaced with courtesy runner Lainey Robinson.
Both runners advanced one base on a double steal, putting runners at second and third with one out and Regan Wintrip at the dish.
After taking ball one, Wintrip executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, scoring Potts from third as the throw to first got Wintrip out by a step.
Reading the play, Robinson never hesitated rounding third and raced home, sliding under the tag for 3-0 lead.
PHOTO BY HAILEY BLANCAS Montesano’s Regan Wintrip executed a two-run sacrifice bunt in the Bulldogs’ 3-1 victory over Adna on Saturday in Montesano.
“We struggled with that with some of our upperclassman earlier,” Monte head coach Pat Pace said regarding Wintrip getting the bunt down that led to two key runs. “(Wintrip) did a great job and sometimes luck is on your side. Lainey Robinson ran right past me and decided she could score and it was pretty cool. … I didn’t tell her to stop or anything like that. … We have told them we want them to decide because it takes longer for them to process it if we’re telling them. But we do have some rules later innings if it’s a close ballgame, maybe we are at a yellow or red light, but hey, it was green all the way in her eyes.”
Meanwhile, Bulldogs starting pitcher Violet Prince was cruising along. The freshman phenom struck out eight of the first 10 batters she faced and didn’t allow a base hit until a two-out single by Kendall Humphrey with two outs in the fourth.
With one on and one out in the top of the sixth, a hard ground ball off the bat of Humphrey banged off Prince’s thigh. The right-hander recovered to grab the ball and get Humphrey out at first, but was unable to keep going and had to be taken out of the game.
Monte’s other ace, junior Grace Gooding, came in and got Alyssa Carroll to hit a ground ball, but a Bulldogs error allowed Danika Hallom to race home for the Pirates’ first run of the game.
With the tying run at the plate, Gooding pulled the string on Brytin Dollarhyde for an inning-ending strikeout.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano pitcher Grace Gooding earned the save in a 3-1 win over Adna on Saturday at Dick Tagman Field in Montesano.
In the seventh, Gooding worked around a one-out walk to strikeout the side, securing the 3-1 win and securing the save in the process.
Prince earned the win, allowing one unearned run on two hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts in 5 2-3 innings pitched.
“When we went over to watch the games in Wenatchee, we ran into some of the Royal parents and they were asking us, ‘Who is this new ace you have?’ And one of the assistants said, ‘Which one? We have to aces.’ And that is kind of how we look at this. I feel comfortable flipping them every other game, and then I also feel comfortable bringing them in to help each other out. … They are both gamers and want to be out there in the circle.”
PHOTO BY HAILEY BLANCAS Montesano pitcher Violet Prince throws a pitch during a 3-1 win over Adna on Saturday in Montesano.
With the win, Monte concludes its regular season as the top-ranked team in the WIAA RPI standings and will face another tough test in this week’s 1A District 4 Tournament, which will feature four teams ranked in the RPI’s top 10.
Adna 000 001 0 – 1 2 2
Montesano 100 200 x – 3 6 1
WP: Prince (5.2 IP, R, 0ER, 2H, 3BB, 11K). LP: LaFontaine (6 IP, 3R, 2ER, 6H, 8K). SV: Gooding (1.1 IP, 0R, 0H, BB, 4K).
Leading hitters: Adna – Humphrey (1-3); Dollarhyde (1-3); Hallom (0-2, R, BB). Montesano – Potts (2-3, R, SB); Robinson (1-3, R, 2 SB); Stanfield (1-3); Parkin (1-3); Fairbairn (1-1); Wintrip (0-2, 2RBI).
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W.F. West 8, Aberdeen 4
Aberdeen fell behind early en route to an 8-4 loss to W.F. West on Friday in Chehalis.
In the regular-season finale for both teams, the Bobcats (17-3, 12-3 2A Evergreen) gave senior ace Lilly Camp a day off from her normal pitching duties in anticipation of this week’s 2A District 4 Tournament as Aberdeen was locked in as the 2A Evergreen Conference’s second-seeded team.
The Bearcats (12-8, 9-6) roughed up starting pitcher Maysinn Jones for six runs in the top of the first inning on two three-run home runs, one by Karlee Coleman and a second by Monroe Dalrymple.
Jones settled in to allow two runs on six hits over her final five innings pitched.
Aberdeen scored a run in the top of the fourth on an Ally Adams RBI fielder’s choice ground out followed by a Camp two-run home run with two outs in the fifth.
Bobcats center fielder Rylee Hendrickson led off the top of the sixth with a home run over the left field fence to cut the Bearcats lead to 7-4, but would get no closer in suffering the loss.
Camp, Hendrickson, Jones and infielder Britten Neal had two hits apiece to lead the Bobcats.
Aberdeen enters the district tournament as the No. 3 RPI-ranked team and No. 2 seed out of the 2A Evergreen Conference.
The Bobcats will face a challenging field in the postseason as three additional district teams are ranked in the top six of the RPI, including No. 1 Mark Morris and No. 2 Tumwater.
Aberdeen opened district play against Woodland at 4 p.m. on Thursday at Recreation Park in Chehalis.
Aberdeen 000 121 0 – 4 9 1
WFW 601 001 x – 8 10 0
WP: Tobin (7 IP, 4R, 4ER, 9H, BB, 3K). LP: Jones (6 IP, 8R, 8ER, 10H, 6BB, 2K).
Leading hitters: Aberdeen – Camp (2-3, HR, 2R, 2RBI); Hendrickson (2-3, HR, R, RBI); Neal (2-4, R, SB); Jones (2-3); Vessey (1-3). WFW – Coleman (3-3, HR, 2B, R, 3RBI); Nelson (2-3); Dalyrymple (1-4, HR, R, 3RBI); Froschauer (1-4, R); Myers (1-2, 2R); Elam (1-4).
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Ocosta 18, Naselle 8
Ocosta defeated Naselle 18-8 in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday at Naselle High School.
The Wildcats (7-5) had five doubles – two by first baseman Sophie Olive – and drew 13 walks in the victory.
Olive led the way with four hits and five RBI for Ocosta.
Pitcher Joanah Rosander scored five runs and had four RBI while third baseman Jessie Gilbert went 2 for 2 and scored four runs.
Rosander earned the win, allowing eight runs – none earned – on five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in five innings pitched.
Ocosta 542 16 – 18 9 6
Naselle 401 03 – 8 5 2
WP: Rosander (5 IP, 8R, 0ER, 5H, 4BB, 7K). LP: Ford (4.1 IP, 17R, 12ER, 8H, 13BB, 8K).
Leading hitters: Ocosta – Olive (4-5, 2 2B, 5RBI); Rosander (2-4, 2B, 5R, 4RBI); Gilbert (2-2, 2B, 4R, RBI); Ness (1-3, 2B, 2R, 5RBI). Naselle – Leggett (2-2, 2B, R, RBI); Bonk (1-3, 4R); Kragerud (1-2, 2R, RBI); Davis (1-4, R).
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Naselle 19, Ocosta 11
A big second inning was Ocosta’s downfall in a 19-11 loss to Naselle in the nightcap.
Mistakes proved to be a problem as the Wildcats committed seven errors in the game, four in the Comets’ 10-run second inning.
Ocosta was led by outfielder Jolissa Schlegel, pitcher Joanah Rosander and catcher Gabby Ness, each of whom had two hits in the game.
Third baseman Jessie Gilbert had a two-run home run in the top of the first to put the Wildcats up 4-0 at the time.
Ocosta hosts Wahkiakum at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the 1B District 4 Tournament.
Ocosta 431 030 0 – 11 9 7
Naselle 5(10)1 210 x – 19 13 1
WP: Normand (7 IP, 11R, 10ER, 9H, 12BB, 8K). LP: Rosander (6 IP, 19R, 3ER, 13H, 3BB, 7K).
Leading hitters: Ocosta – Schlegel (2-4, 3B, 2R); Rosander (2-5, 2 2B, 3R, 3RBI); Ness (2-3, 2B, 2R, RBI); Gilbert (1-2, HR, 3R, 2RBI); Olive (1-3, 2RBI); Byers (1-3, RBI). Naselle – Ford (3-5, 2 2B, 4R, 3RBI); Davis (2-5, 2 2B, 2R, 2RBI); Kragerud (2-5, HR, 3R, 3RBI); Normand (1-5, 2R, 2RBI); Leggett (1-5, 2R, 2RBI); Bonk (1-2, 2R, RBI); Dalton (1-3, R).
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Other games
North Beach 16, Morton-White Pass 5
Taholah 13, Oakville 8
