Cheney returns all but one player for new run next season
By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
Representing a program that hasn't reached state since the early part of the last decade of last century, Cheney High's softball team didn't do too badly last weekend.
The Lady Hawks posted a 1-2 record at the 2A state tournament in Selah; finishing in a four-way tie for ninth place overall. For head coach Gary Blake, it was a solid performance from a team with one senior and one returning junior.
“For such a young team, I don't feel they could've done much better than they did,” he said.
The Lady Hawks began with a 5-4 loss to a Blaine team Blake feels they should have beat. Cheney opened with a 2-0 lead on the strength of Mandy McDowell's 2-run home run in the top of the first.
But after giving up a run in the bottom of the frame Blake said they “shot themselves in the foot” in the bottom of the second, giving up two hits, a walk and three errors leading to four Borderite runs. Cheney regained its focus to hold Blaine scoreless the rest of game, setting up a seventh inning rally.
Ryelynn Mendoza, Sierra Vijarro and Nicole Lane each belted one-out singles to load the bases for Cheney. Blaine issued an intentional walk to McDowell, scoring Mendoza, and Gracie Pitts followed with a fielder's choice grounder to the pitcher, who threw out Lane at third, enabling Vijarro to score cutting the lead to one.
Nora Ifft followed with a two-out bloop single to center. Blake waved McDowell, running from second, around third and the sophomore was thrown out at home trying to score to end the game.
“That was the tying run,” Blake said. “We had to send her and they made the play.”
Lane took the loss on the mound, giving up five runs on six hits while striking eight and walking four.
Knocked into the consolation bracket the Lady Hawks found themselves facing a softball titan – 20-2 Ellensburg, winners of the Central Washington Athletic Conference regular season and district titles and last year's state runner up. It was also a team stung by an 8-0 first-round loss to eventual state champion Woodland, and a team that had a .450 season batting average in outscoring CWAC opponents by a 14-1 average.
After falling behind 3-0, it looked like the Lady Hawks might suffer a fate similar to the Bulldogs' CWAC opponents. Cheney's bats prevented that from happening.
Mendoza doubled to lead off and Lane singled with one out. After McDowell popped out to third, Pitts knocked a two-out, 3-run homer off Bulldogs' starter Jessica Harris – who Blake said entered the tournament with a regular season ERA of 0.26 – that easily cleared the scoreboard in left.
“It was a good blast,” Blake added.
The Lady Hawks blew the game open in the third. Cheney scored seven runs on six hits, getting RBI singles from Pitts, Vijarro and Lane and an RBI double by Ifft.
Cheney also scored on two wild pitches and a fielder's choice by Megan Ford. The Bulldogs got runs in the fifth and sixth, but couldn't close the gap in Cheney's 10-5 win.
Lane went the distance, giving up five runs on nine hits, striking out six and walking one.
Needing one more win to advance to Saturday's action the Lady Hawks ended their tournament with a 12-1 loss to Anacortes. Cheney matched the Seahawks' first inning run with a run in the second, with Katie Bethel scoring on a wild pitch. But after that it was all Anacortes. The Seahawks roughed up Cheney starter McDowell with a 3-run home run in the third and did the same thing to Lane, who relieved McDowell with the bases loaded in the fourth, scoring four runs in the fourth and five in the fifth. McDowell took the loss, giving up seven runs on five hits while striking out four and walking four in 3 1/3 innings, with Lane giving up five runs on six hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings.
Offensively the Lady Hawks were led by the .500 batting averages of Bethel (3 for 6) and Lane (5 for 10, 1RBI). Mendoza hit .444 (4 for 9), Pitts (4 for 11, 5RBI) and Ifft (4-11, 1RBI) hit .364 and Vijarro (3 for 9) hit .333.
While the team fell short of their tournament goal of winning two games, Blake was happy with how the Lady Hawks performed in their first state appearance in over 15 years. Cheney loses one senior, catcher Ford, while returning one junior, Ifft, seven sophomores and two freshmen from a team that captured the Great Northern League's No. 2 seed and reached state, ending the season with a 12-13 record.
“It was a young team,” Blake said. “They gelled towards the end of the season to make it to districts. (Now) we know we're among the 12 best teams in the state.”
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)