Logan Krantz prepares to step into the batters box Monday against visiting Pullman. The freshman was 3 for 3 with three RBIs as the Lady Blackhawks eliminated the Greyhounds 15-8 to advance to the District 7 seeding game Wednesday against West Valley.
It took a bit of work, but the Cheney High School softball team finally fulfilled a major preseason goal - making it back for a chance to play for a state tournament slot.
The Lady Blackhawks got two solid pitching performances from Maddie Kallsen that were enough to give Cheney's bats a chance to come alive in late innings against visiting Clarkston and Pullman. Cheney scored in the fourth and fifth innings to eliminate Clarkston 11-1 in five innings on Saturday, and then rallied from an 8-6 deficit with three runs in the fourth to eventually eliminate the Greyhounds 15-8 on Monday.
The junior hurler relieved starter Maria Guglielmo - who pitched well but was snake-bit by fielding errors behind her - with two outs and four runs across in the top of the fourth against Pullman. Kallsen got the final out without more damage being done, and then retired the next nine Greyhounds, striking out five overall including Pullman's 2-3-4 hitters in the sixth.
"Maddie came in and pitched perfect relief," Cheney head coach Gary Blake said.
After Cheney took a 3-0 first inning lead, including a solo home run by Kallsen, Pullman clawed its way back, scoring two unearned runs in the second, tying it at 4 in the third and taking an 8-6 lead in the fourth.
In the bottom of that inning, Shelby Melton stroked a lead-off single to left and eventually came around to score on a fielder's choice by Guglielmo, sliding into home under the tag attempt by Pullman catcher Alexus Haugen. Kallsen then singled to left, Guglielmo stole third, and both scored on RBI singles from Meghan Krantz and Logan Krantz, giving Cheney a 9-8 lead it never relinquished.
Offensively, Kallsen, Meghan Krantz and Kara Johnstone were all 3 for 4, with Johnson driving in three runs and Krantz two. Logan Krantz was 3 for 3 with three RBIs.
Kallsen pitched well on Saturday against Clarkston, preventing the Bantams from mounting any threat until Cheney broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the fourth, and seven in the fifth to end the game on the 10-run rule. Blake said Kallsen threw 66 percent strikes and 78 percent first-pitch strikes, getting behind in the count only twice.
Cheney managed eight hits, but they made them count. Meghan Krantz went 2 for 3 - both home runs - and drove in four RBIs while Guglielmo was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Logan Krantz, Alley Dassow, Melton and Courtney Hanson had one hit each.
The wins were salves for the way Cheney finished the regular season, posting a season-high three-game losing streak with a 9-7 loss at East Valley. The Knights opened a 9-4 lead before the Lady Blackhawks rallied with three runs in their final at bat, but fell short.
Kallsen led Cheney with three hits, including a solo home run.
"Our pitching was not on and our hitting was not as great as it has been," Blake said, adding the team was "disappointed" in the way they played.
The Lady Blackhawks (16-5) were to play Great Northern League regular-season champion West Valley (13-5) Wednesday for seeding into regional crossover games with the Central Washington Athletic Conference this Saturday. A win keeps Cheney at home against the CWAC No. 4 team, while a loss sends them on the road to face the third-seed.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)