Sweet Home 14, Philomath 7
The Huskies came out on top in a hitting festival, winning 14-7, on April 22 on the road.
“As far as the game went, we just came out hitting the heck out of it, and we really didn’t stop,” said Coach Steve Hummer. “It was probably one of the best hitting games I’ve coached at high school.”
Ashley Cochran went 5-5 with a double, two runs, three RBI and two stolen bases to lead the girls offensively.
Megan Rubidoux and Megan Graville each went 3-4 with an RBI.
Tasha Saunders went 2-4. Kristen Tolle went 2-5. Sarah Wyatt went 2-2. Hailey Hummer went 1-2. Shelbey Gillespie went 1-5, and Bayli Riggs went 1-4.
Riggs pitched three innings, giving up four hits and run, while striking out five.
Hummer pulled her in the third to give her some rest, he said. Graville went in, giving up nine hits and six runs.
She didn’t pitch as well as she had been, Hummer said, but the Huskies rode out the storm because they had such a strong offensive edge.
The Huskies were leading 7-1 after three innings. The Warriors put together five runs primarily on errors, Hummer said. Those were the kinds of errors the team has talked about avoiding because teams take advantage of them.
But the girls came back, starting their next at bat on a single, walk, a sacrifice and another single to put pressure on the Warriors.
“It was a good response,” he said, and the defense settled down in the sixth and seventh.
“I just wish we played a little better defense that one inning,” Hummer said.
The Warriors scored one more run in the sixth, while the Huskies scored another five in the sixth and seventh.
Sweet Home 421 203 2 €“ 14 20 3
Philomath 001 051 0 €“ 7 13 3
Central 4, Sweet Home 1
The Huskies lost 4-1 to Central on April 20 on the road.
Riggs pitched well, Hummer said. In 5-1/3 innings, she gave up three hits and struck out two batters. Graville finished the game and didn’t give up anything.
“We were just mentally tired because of the day before,” Hummer said of a 10-inning grind where Central edged out Sweet Home. Fatigued from that contest, the Huskies made some key mistakes on the field.
In tight games against good teams like Central, they’ll take advantage of the mistakes, he said. In the end, the Huskies had the only earned run in the game.
But that’s what softball is about, making the other team break first, he said.
At bat, Rubidoux went 1-3 with an RBI. Emili Riggs and Saunders each went 1-2.
Sweet Home 000 001 0 €“ 1 3 5
Central 010 102 x €“ 4 3 2
Central 5, Sweet Home 4
Central defeated the Huskies 5-4 in Sweet Home on April 19 in 10 innings.
B. Riggs pitched five innings, giving up four hits and two runs while striking out four batters.
Graville pitched the final five innings, giving up five hits and three runs. She struck out two batters.
“We pitched well,” Hummer said. “We did a lot of good things.
“It was kind of one of those epic games. We’ve had a few against Central.”
The Huskies methodically built a 3-0 lead, scoring runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Central scored three runs in the sixth on a walk followed by a couple of errors.
“Good teams will take advantage of your mistakes, and they did,” Hummer said. Central scored another run in the fourth, but the Huskies caught up when E. Riggs walked and stole second. B. Riggs singled to score E. Riggs and tie the game.
Innings eight and nine were uneventful, with both teams getting a runner or two on base. The 10th inning, Central had a lead-off walk and then bunted runners to first and second followed by a sac fly to score.
The call at the plate was controversial, Hummer said. He felt the runner was out.
“But you’ve got to live with it,” Hummer said. “We had a chance to do something, and we didn’t get it done.”
Still, “we competed really, really, really well,” he said. “It’s the kind of game we want to put together to finish up league.”
The girls kept fighting, scratching the whole way, while facing one of the toughest pitchers in the state and playing solid defense, Hummer said.
Central is first in league. The Huskies are tied for second with Newport.
Hummer believes his team can finish second, host a state playoff game and then go deep into playoffs if it plays the way it did in this game.
Central 000 003 100 1 €“ 5 9 3
Sweet Home 001 110 100 0 €“ 4 6 3