The Huskies rolled over Sisters 13-3, winning under the 10-run rule in six innings Friday and holding onto a strong second place in Sky-Em League rankings.
With five games left to go, the Huskies are 7-3, behind Elmira, 9-0, with their only losses to Elmira. They were scheduled to face Sisters again on Monday, followed by Sutherlin at home on Wednesday and on the road Friday and two games against Cottage Grove next week, away on Tuesday and at home to finish the regular season on Friday.
Junction City trails the Huskies with a 5-5 record, while Elmira and Cottage Grove are tied for fourth at 4-6. Sisters is winless.
“We’ll finish out in second,” said Coach Shane Cochran. “We won’t lose a game.
“We’ve got to work on our live pitching for batting and just prepare for the regional play-in game. I’m confident we’ll hit the ball to well enough to win it.”
The Huskies’ defense is tough, he said, but they’ll also have to work on their pitching. They’ll win as long as they can throw strikeouts and hit the ball.
Against Sisters at home on Friday, the Huskies quickly built a 3-0 lead. Sisters scored a run in the fourth inning, but the Huskies broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth, scoring eight runs and leading 11-1. Sisters scored two more runs in the fifth. The Huskies finished the game under the 10-run rule by scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth.
Ally Tow and Molly Fisher led at the plate with three hits each, Tow with a double. Makenna Melbye hit the ball twice with a double. Britney Zook, Natalie Thorpe and Sierra Thayer each had two hits. Madi Barringer and Mckenzie Cochran had a hit each.
All of them had an RBI, while Fisher had two.
Tow pitched a complete game, giving up six hits, three walks and one earned run and striking out seven.
“They’re pretty weak, so we just hit the ball and scored,” Cochran said, although “they did hit the ball.”
Sisters 000 120 – 3 6 2
Sweet Home 012 802 – 13 17 1
Elmira 14, Sweet Home 5
After a promising start, the Huskies lost to Elmira 14-5 in their third and final contest of the regular season on April 28.
Elmira scored first, building a 2-0 lead by the top of the second inning. The Huskies tied the game in the bottom of the inning and then shot ahead of Elmira 5-3 in the third inning. Elmira evened the score in the fifth and then started hitting in the sixth to score eight more runs and take a 13-5 lead.
“We played good,” Cochran said. “In that sixth inning, they just broke it open and scored a bunch of runs. They’re just a little better than us.”
At bat, Sarita Zanona led with two hits, while Tow, Caytlin Gillespie, Melbye, Fisher and Barrigner each had a hit.
Pitching, Tow threw 5 ½ innings, giving up 10 hits, 12 earned runs and seven walks with three strikeouts. Zanona finished the game, giving up one hit and two walks.
Elmira 111 028 1 – 14 11 3
Sweet Home 023 000 0 – 5 7 3