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Huskies stumble against Cascade after Philomath rain-outs

Two league games were canceled due to rain, and a third didn’t go the Huskies way last week as Sweet Home softball moved to 9-3 on the year and 4-2 in the 4A-3 Oregon West Conference.

After Wednesday’s game versus Woodburn and Thursday’s at Philomath were both rained out, the Huskies, who sit at third place in the OWC, lost a lopsided matchup at home against Cascade Friday, 17-1. The Cougars moved to 8-3 on the year, with a 5-0 record in conference. They are second in the OWC behind Stayton.

Cascade scored four runs in the first inning, three in the third, three in the fourth, and seven in the fifth. Sweet Home’s sole run came in the bottom of the fifth, the game’s last frame, when senior Mykal Johnston singled to score junior Kelsie Rush. Johnston led the team with two hits along with the Huskies’ lone RBI.

Senior Maddie Harris started the game in the circle for the Huskies. She pitched two and two thirds innings and gave up six earned runs on six hits. She walked two batters and struck out two.

Junior Makayla Guthrie came in in relief in the third inning. She pitched two and one third inning, giving up five earned runs on eight hits and a home run. She walked one batter.

Cascade outhit Sweet Home 14-6. The Cougars defense committed zero errors, while Sweet Home had eight.

“We just couldn’t put anything together at the same time,” Hartsook said of the game. “It was definitely a late start for us game-wise as far as getting runners on base and being able to put some runs in the book.

“Against a team like Cascade, you can’t do that. You have to be on it right away.”

Still, she said “I was really proud of some kids a little bit deeper in the lineup that got on base and put us in scoring position.”

Looking ahead, Hartsook said “We’re going to tighten up our pitching. We had some defensive errors that were definitely instrumental in them scoring runs, and multiple runs, and were detrimental to our defense as far as supporting the pitcher.”

“We all have to hit,” Hartsook noted. “We have to hit through our lineup. It can’t just be one or two kids each game. Every kid, every game, whoever’s in the lineup needs to be contributing to the offensive force. We have the ability to do it. We just need to get it all put together.”

Sweet Home’s game scheduled for Monday, April 18 against Sisters (2-5) was also canceled due to weather. The Huskies are scheduled to play at Stayton (12-2) on Wednesday, April 20 at 4 p.m. They then plan to hit the road again on Monday, April 25 at 4:30 p.m. at Newport (3-10).

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