Sweet Home had a chance to win, but just missed in a league-opening 2-1 softball loss at home to Elmira Monday evening.
Elmira scored in the third and fifth innings, neither earned. The Huskies committed six errors.
The Huskies loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with just one out. Sierra Thayer grounded out to first, scoring Natalie Thorpe, but Elmira struck out Shantel Pitts to end the game.
“She had a good at bat,” said Coach Gary Barr. “She was swinging aggressively.”
The Huskies finished the game with six hits. Emily Marchbanks went 2-3, and Caytlin Gillespie went 1-3 with a double. Kelli Fanning, Mackenzie Cochran and Katie Virtue each went 1-3.
“This was not one of our better defensive outings,” Barr said, contrasting it to last week’s tournament at McLoughlin High School in Milton-Freewater where the girls won three of four games.
The infield defense broke down a little, he said, but the outfield did a good job.
“Emily (Marchbanks) came to pitch today,” Barr said. “Pitching was excellent really.”
Marchbanks threw two hits, hit one batter and walked two, giving up no earned runs.
“It was a pretty good game on offense,” Barr said. Elmira’s pitcher threw some tough pitches with a curve ball that moved a lot at the end and was hard to hit.
The Huskies had some shots head right at third, Barr said, and Elmira third baseman is very good.
The Huskies felt like they could have collected more hits if they were more aggressive earlier on, Barr said.
Elmira was the undefeated league champion last year, Barr said. He believes the Falcons lost only a pitcher.
“We play Elmira two more times,” Barr said. “The girls all feel if we play our game, we should have a good chance the next two.”
They’re not overconfident, but their confidence isn’t shaken either, Barr said. Their goals are still within reach, especially with the chance Sisters could pick off Elmira.
“Above all, we’re not going to lose our confidence,” Barr said.
MHSS Tournament
The Huskies did well in the tournament held March 28-29, he said. They lost their first game 13-3 to Scappoose. They defeated Stayton 7-4, Taft 9-2 and Yamhill-Carlton 9-3.
In the fourth game, against Yamhill-Carlton, the Huskies faced a pitcher, Molly Smith, already signed to Division I on a full ride, Barr said. She throws at 63 mph.
The Huskies collected six hits against her in the first two innings, Barr said, then she left the mound.
“That’s how we can hit when we’ve got the confidence,” he said.
Barr said Fanning’s performance this year is exceptional. A senior, she is just getting her first season with significant varsity time.
After spending a lot of time working hard on it, she’s hitting fifth and averaging .400, Barr said. “She just came out of nowhere, and Kelli has been a hitting machine.”
With the amount of experience she has, Barr is amazed at her performance. She looks like she’s been playing competitive ball for 15 years.
“She’d be amazing even if she was experienced,” Barr said. She is excited and has the right mindset, aggressive but not overly so.
“She’s just been amazing the last six or seven games,” Barr said.
The girls are 7-3 overall and 0-1 in league. They play at Sisters on Wednesday and La Pine on Friday. They will host Cottage Grove on Monday.
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