All the Cheney High softball team needed last Saturday at West Valley was a split of their doubleheader with the Eagles, and they would be assured the Great Northern League’s top-seed into the upcoming playoffs.
Instead, the Lady Blackhawks swept their Millwood hosts, and assured themselves something else when it comes to the GNL regular-season title.
“It’s all ours,” head coach Gary Blake said Monday evening.
With wins of 11-9 and 16-1, Cheney secures its second league title in four years, and gives itself a good shot at winning a fourth-straight District 7 championship — something that in this year’s playoff format means an automatic trip for the winner to the state tournament in Selah.
The sweep didn’t come easy, despite the game two score. West Valley cut Cheney’s early 8-2 lead in half with two runs in the bottom of the fifth in game one.
In the sixth, the Lady Blackhawks gave themselves what we prove to be enough of a winning cushion. Shyla Courchaine led off with a walk, and advanced to third when West Valley pitcher India Well’s throw on Maria Guglielmo’s sacrifice bunt sailed wide of first and into right field.
Guglielmo advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Maddie Kallsen’s single brought Courchaine home. Megan Krantz ground out to score Guglielmo in what would prove to be the game-winning run, and sister Logan Krantz gave Cheney some breathing room with an RBI single scoring Kallsen.
West Valley answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, getting a lead off home run, a single and a two-run home run before Cheney shut the door on the rally. In the seventh, Kallsen retired the first two Eagles batters before a Cheney error opened the door for two more West Valley runs.
West Valley loaded the bases with two outs, but Kallsen got a fly ball to right field that Courchaine secured to give Cheney the win — and No. 1 seed.
“You’re never safe,” Blake said about playing the Eagles. “You never feel like you have enough runs to where you could coast.”
Kallsen got the win in the pitcher’s circle, giving up five earned runs on 10 hits while walking one and striking out nine, throwing an impressive 65 percent first-pitch strikes.
“She had control,” Blake said.
Game two proved to be a laugher, but not because the Eagles experienced a let down. Blake said Wells caught a spike and rolled an ankle in game one, and by the time game two came along, the injury — despite being taped — was preventing her from planting on her delivery.
The junior gave up eight runs in the first and two in the second before being lifted by fellow junior Jaylin Steen, who gave up six more runs. West Valley managed a run in the bottom of the third against Kallsen, but the game was eventually shortened to three innings by Cheney’s 15-run lead.
Alyson Dassow was 2 for 2, both doubles, and four RBIs to lead Cheney in game two. The junior was 2 for 4 with three RBIs in game one.
Logan Krantz was 3 for 4 on the day with three RBIs while Megan Krantz was 2 for 6 with four RBIs. Courchaine (2), Kallsen (3), Guglielmo (3), Shelby Melton (2), Courtney Hanson, Kyla Olson, Alexis Mitchell and Lindsay Hagreen all added hits.
Cheney goes to 10-1 in the GNL, 17-1 overall, and wrapped up the regular season Tuesday against third-place East Valley (7-4, 10-8) at home. The Knights are the only GNL team to have beaten the Lady Blackhawks this season.
Blake hopes his players don’t get too complacent about beating teams like West Valley three times this season. He has recent history to point to as an example of what can happen should they do that — West Valley swept the season series against Cheney the past three seasons, only to lose to the Lady Blackhawks in the District 7 title game.
“We need to be on our toes and not repeat that pattern,” Blake said.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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