Sweet Home dominated three softball games last week, winning by the 10-run rule in two games at home against Sisters and one at La Pine; and Emily Marchbanks pitched a perfect game against La Pine.
“These three games were all good wins,” said Coach Shane Cochran. “But the team is pushing forward to shut out Cottage Grove next week. We are playing very well, but we have not peaked and we will continue to work hard and get to that point as playoffs get closer.”
The Huskies are seventh in the state in Oregon Student Activities Association rankings, used to determine bracket placement for playoffs.
Holding a 9-1 record in league, they lead the Sky-Em. They hold an overall record of 13-2. Thirteenth-ranked Elmira is second in the Sky-Em with a record of 8-2, followed by Cottage Grove, 7-3; Junction City, 5-5; Sisters, 1-9; and La Pine, 0-10.
The Huskies are scheduled to host Cottage Grove Wednesday and travel to Cottage Grove on Friday. They host Junction City on Tuesday.
Sweet Home 12, La Pine 0
The Huskies shut out La Pine 12-0 in five innings on the road Friday.
“After playing Sisters, I was thinking the girls would get a little laid back and play La Pine at a slow pace,” Cochran said. “Boy, was I wrong.”
The Huskies scored their first run in the first inning and then put their heads down to score four in the second. They followed with one in the third and three each in the fourth and fifth.
“These girls are climbing higher and higher every day, and they won’t slow down,” Cochran said. “The defense is playing flawless at this time, and the offense is hitting the ball very well.”
The girls collected 14 hits at La Pine. Katie Virtue went 3-3, and Caytlin Gillespie and Mackenzie Virtue went 2-3. Maddee Hawken went 2-2. McKenzie Cochran, Marchbanks, Taylor Thorpe and Sarita Zanona had base hits.
Marchbanks threw a perfect game, shutting down La Pine with 11 strikeouts, no hits and no walks.
“She is on fire right now, and she will continue to work hard and pitch with more shutouts,” Cochran said. “I have all the confidence in Emily Marchbanks that a coach needs. She is making batters look bad, to put it plain and simple.”
Sweet Home 20, Sisters 0
Sweet Home 21, Sisters 1
Making up for a rained-out game, the Huskies hosted a doubleheader against Sisters on April 29, shutting out the Outlaws 20-0 in the first game and then winning 21-1 in the second.
Katie Virtue went 6-8 at bat and scored six runs. Sierra Thayer went 5-8, scoring six runs. Gillespie, McKenzie Cochran and Thorpe all went 5-8 on the day. The Huskies had 18 hits in the first game and 17 in the second.
The girls jumped ahead of Sisters early in each game.
“By the third inning, the score was too big a spread, and we needed to pull back the reins,” Cochran said. “We just went station to station off all the hits we were getting.”