Sweet Home 3, Philomath 2
Playing good softball, the Huskies capped off a three-game week with 3-2 win against Philomath Friday at home after losing to Central, the defending state champion, and Newport, which has defeated Central.
Four teams are in contention for a state playoff spot in the Val-Co, Coach Steve Hummer said. The Huskies played all of the other three last week.
They played well in general, he said, but “we need to get more hits.”
Against Philomath, the Huskies turned in their best performance of the week, collecting five hits, with catcher Shelbey Gillespie and third baseman Becky Spencer each going 2-3 with a double and an RBI.
Pitching, Bayli Riggs struck out 10 batters, walked none and gave up one hit. Tasha Saunders relieved Riggs in the seventh inning and struck out one batter.
Philomath 000 101 0 2 1 1
Sweet Home 000 201 x 3 5 3
Central 4, Sweet Home 0
Central defeated the Huskies 4-0 at home on April 16.
“It was very, very similar to Newport (earlier in the week),” Hummer said. “We played solid. They took advantage of a couple of mistakes.”
In both cases, the Huskies struggled at bat, he said. The Huskies got a couple of runners to third, twice by Lacey Mink, who stole three bases and had the Huskies’ only hit and reached base a second time on a walk.
Riggs gave up five hits and two earned runs. She struck out eight batters and walked two.
Central 000 021 1 4 5 1
Sweet Home 000 000 0 0 1 2
Newport 5, Sweet Home 0
Newport defeated the Huskies 5-0 at Newport on April 14 .
“We played solid,” Hummer said. “Newport’s in first place in league. They beat Central.”
Like the Central game, Newport didn’t get a lead until scoring two runs in the fourth inning, Hummer said. In the sixth, Newport got a walk and put some pressure on the Huskies and scored three runs.
“If we’re going to beat teams like that, we’ve got to start hitting,” Hummer said. “We were in the game. We’ve just got to get more runs. We’ve got to get the bats going.”
Sweet Home 000 000 0 0 2 1
Newport 000 203 x 5 7 0
Marist 8, Sweet Home 0
Monday night, top-ranked Marist shut out the Huskies 8-0 in a non-league contest on the road.
Marist has six seniors, who are all good players, Hummer said. The Huskies pitching staff struck out two batters and walked five. Saunders pitched through the second inning. Riggs relieved her in the third, striking out two.
At bat, Paige Niemi singled, and Saunders hit a double.
Sweet Home 000 000 0 0 2 1
Marist 205 100 x 8 6 0
Clinic Saturday
The Huskies will host a softball clinic Saturday at Sweet Home High School. A free coaching clinic, focusing on pitching and hitting, runs from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Hummer’s classroom.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Huskies will work with girls ages 9 through 14 on hitting and fielding. From 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., they will work with girls 6 ages through 8. Cost is $20 and includes a T-shirt.
Call 367-7145 for information.