Huskies bats were hot last week as they outscored their softball opponents 44-4, culminating in the 10-1 defeat of Cottage Grove Friday afternoon in Sweet Home.
The Huskies started scoring on a run in the first inning, followed by four more in the second and fourth innings and one more in the sixth. Cottage Grove scored its single run in the fourth.
Pitching a three-hitter, Emily Marchbanks struck out nine batters while walking just one.
Katie Virtue and Sierra Thayer each went 3-4 to lead Huskies at bat. Marchbanks and Kelli Fanning hit doubles, and singling were Kaitlyn Lucero, Hailey Hummer, Mc-Kenzie Cochran, Caytlin Gillespie and Megan Graville.
Megan Graville throws to Hailey Hummer at first to pick off a batter
Each team committed one error.
“We’ve just been hitting the ball better, making the games easier,” said Coach Gary Barr. “We’ve been hitting the ball a lot harder.
“We’ve been playing better defensively.”
But they haven’t been playing big-hitting teams, he said.
Neither Cottage Grove nor La Pine hit as well as Sisters, Elmira and Junction City, so next week will be the real test of the Huskies defense as they face Junction City, 9-4, in a bid for third place in the league. Junction City beat Sisters 1-0 and 3-0 last week, knocking Sisters from the top spot for Elmira, 10-3. Sisters, 9-4, is tied with Junction City for second.
To ensure a spot in the playoffs, the Huskies, 8-5, need to beat Junction City twice, Barr said. Losing either game, the Huskies will find themselves looking for an at-large berth in playoffs.
“Junction City’s been playing very good,” Barr said. The Huskies were scheduled to play at Junction City Tuesday and will play their last home game, the last regular season game, against Junction City on Friday.
Cottage Grove 000 100 0 – 1 3 1
Sweet Home 140 401 0 – 10 13 1
Sweet Home 13, Cottage Grove 0
The Huskies shut out Cottage Grove 13-0 in five innings under the 10-run rule May 1 on the road.
Virtue led hitting, going 4-4. Thayer went 2-2, and Marchbanks went 2-4. Fanning hit a double, and Marchbanks tripled. Singling were Cochran, Hummer, Shantel Pitts.
Marchbanks threw a two-hitter, struck out four and walked four.
The Huskies dominated at La Pine on April 29, winning 21-3. The Huskies collected 15 hits. La Pine scored three on errors.
Sweet Home 315 40 – 13 13 0
Cottage Grove 000 00 – 0 2 2