Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Tekoa-Rosalia's Paige Brown had an outstanding day playing against Garfield-Palouse on April 20, according to her coach. The picture is from an earlier doubleheader.
GARFIELD – Garfield-Palouse Vikings softball split the April 20 doubleheader with the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves.
The Vikings won the first game 16-6 and advanced their record to 7-3 for the season.
Garfield-Palouse Junior Kenzie Pedersen was the starting pitcher and had 7 strikeouts and walked 2 batters.
The Vikings got off to a slow start with the Timberwolves keeping pace. The fourth inning is when the game changed.
"The girls were hitting the ball and it was a pretty close game until the fourth inning," said Timberwolves Coach Bailee Nickelson.
"We kind of exploded in the fourth inning and had just about everyone score," Vikings Coach Rochelle Pedersen said. "Their pitcher was a bit slower than we are used to this season. Once we got our groove, then we were doing well."
Garfield-Palouse pitcher Kenzie Pederson went 3 for 4 at bat. Catcher junior Denni Sealy went 2 for 3 at bat with a homerun and 2 RBIs. Junior Madison Coninger went 1 for 3 but had a grand slam for 3 RBIs.
The Vikings' younger players were getting hits and showing their progress in playing softball. Rochelle Pedersen was happy with their batting and their defense.
"Most of the hits didn't get out of our infield. They kept the ball corralled and didn't allow for extra bases," she said.
The Timberwolves struggled with the scoring surge by the Vikings.
"There were a couple of errors on the field and they affected them," Nickelson said of her team.
Timberwolves' catcher Paige Brown shined for their defense behind the plate.
"She was just awesome, catching everything ... and giving her 100% no matter what," said Nickelson.
The second game was won by the Timberwolves 25-13.
"The second game was just incredible. I can't think of a person who didn't hit the ball," said Nickelson.
Timberwolves' senior Alyssa Bird went 6 for 6 with four doubles, a homerun, a single, and 8 RBIs.
"Chloe Place was driving the ball up the middle and had lots of RBIs and a big contributor to the game," said Nickelson.
Tekoa-Rosalia's Elise Wilkins went 4 for 5 and hit the cycle with 9 RBIs. A "cycle" is a single, double, triple, and homerun.
"Everybody was hitting, getting on base and scoring," Nickelson said. "Their passion and love (for the game) really showed through. The girls had an immense amount of fun."
Garfield-Palouse tried to rally but fell short.
"It just seemed like all the energy was gone from our team. Things start happening for T-R and they were pumped. We weren't," Rochelle Pedersen said.
Viking Madison Coninger began as the pitcher, but was replaced by Kenzie Pedersen in the fourth inning.
"We had quite a few errors," said Rochelle Pedersen. "It was a lack of communication. That was the factor for the errors. They really weren't talking to each other."
Senior Paige Collier went 2 for 2. Sophomore Megan Olson went 2 for 4 n both games. Fealy went 3 for 5 with another homerun.
"I said, 'You don't learn as much from the wins. You learn from the losses,'" said Pedersen. "You have to make mistakes to get better."
Tekoa-Rosalia moves to 3-7 with the win. Their April 24 game was canceled due to rain and they are preparing to play Pomeroy on May 1.
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
Reader Comments(0)