The only thing that went wrong for the Cheney High School softball team last Saturday at Clarkston was they missed a pair of extra points and gave up a safety.
The lack of four varsity starters for the Bantams due to the school’s early spring break turned a Great Northern League doubleheader into more of a football game type score as the Lady Blackhawks demolished Clarkston 24-2 in game one and 26-0 in the nightcap. Cheney head coach Gary Blake said one of the missing Clarkston players was the team’s No. 1 pitcher, the effects of which likely showed in the Bantams giving up 17 walks, 10 in game one alone.
Cheney was 47 for 69 at the plate overall on the day, a .681 hitting percentage. Adrianna Suiter led the Lady Blackhawks with six hits, including two doubles and a home run, and 13 RBIs.
Meghan Krantz and Rachel Barsness each had seven hits and six RBIs, with Krantz collecting a pair of doubles and a home run and Barsness recording a double. Cheyenne Wright had five hits and five RBIs while Madison Kallsen also recorded five hits, including a home run, and four RBIs.
Julia Boyd (1-0) got the win on the mound in game one, giving up two unearned runs on two hits while walking four and striking out eight over five innings. Kallsen (2-0) took the nightcap win, sprinkling three hits over five innings while walking one and striking out six.
Football references aside, Cheney’s only downside on the afternoon came in Clarkston’s bottom of the third in game one where they committed all three of their errors, leading to the Bantams only two runs.
So far this season, Cheney (3-0 overall, 2-0 GNL) has outscored their opponents 75-5. The production, while impressive, has come against some suspect pitching, however, and hasn’t given Blake with a feel for where his team is as far as competitiveness and chemistry.
That should change this week as the Lady Blackhawks face three teams that should present better pitching staffs along with offensive capabilities. Cheney gets a look at two other GNL opponents, hosting West Valley (1-4, 0-2) Tuesday and traveling to East Valley (4-2, 3-0) Saturday.
In between Cheney renews their West Plains rivalry with Medical Lake by hosting the Lady Cardinals in a non-league game Wednesday. All three games should give the Lady Blackhawks chances to prove themselves against better competition.
“By the end of this week we’ll have seen all of them (GNL teams) except Pullman,” Blake said. “We should have a pretty good idea what league will be like.”
Cheney had to change a previously scheduled game with the Greyhounds March 24 from Pullman to Cheney due to field conditions, but that game was subsequently rained out. It will be made up as part of a home doubleheader for the Lady Blackhawks on April 14.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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