Wildcat softball rallies to get back in hunt

Published 8:38 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE – Just when it appeared the Mount Si Wildcats’ softball team was falling out of contention for an automatic spot in the Sea-King district tournament, big wins last week vaulted them back into the thick of the race.

The Wildcats opened the week at home last Monday with a needed win.

Under sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s, sophomore pitcher Kandis Clesson returned to make her first start in a week after being ill and was no worse for wear as she one-hit the Interlake Saints in a 7-0 rout. Clesson struck out 12 Saints.

“It was a good game. The girls were scoring runs, hitting the ball hard so it was [a] good win. [It] made it easy for me to go out there and not be so stressful,” said Clesson.

Freshman outfielder Lacey Blais and sophomore infielder Tricia Coccia each hit two RBI-doubles to lead Mount Si offensively.

Coach Larry White was pleased with his team’s effort.

“That’s one of those games, like I was telling the girls, that you come back really high after beating a No. 1, and you could come in pretty flat and the girls didn’t. They were all business. We did the things we needed to do to get the deal done,” said White.

Mount Si traveled north Wednesday to Cedarcrest for the final time, and survived a bases-loaded jam to pick up a crucial victory.

The 2-0 effort was keyed by another strong Clesson one-hitter, in which she struck out 10 Red Wolves.

Junior Ashley Svarthumle hit a RBI single in the seventh to key the Wildcats’ attack.

Mount Si went into Friday’s game at Newport with a golden opportunity to take control of their own destiny. With a win and losses by both Sammamish and Bellevue (the Totems played Liberty and the Wolverines played Issaquah), the Wildcats would take sole possession of that fourth place spot. It took nine innings, but they got it done. Mount Si won 6-2 over the Knights and both Sammamish and Bellevue lost, so the spot is the Wildcats’ to lose now.

“We’re getting hot at the right time. [The] girls are coming through. Today’s game was an excellent game,” said White.

Junior infielder Amy Trenkamp added, though, that the win didn’t come easy.

“We came together as a team and everybody was hitting the ball. It was just an all around good game. We had good defense. We made five errors, which isn’t good, but we came back and we made the big plays,” Trenkamp said.

Trenkamp had the big hit, a ground-rule double that scored two runs in the ninth with two outs.

Catcher Erika Evans was pleased with her efforts.

“I think I did a really good job behind the plate. I didn’t let any balls get behind me and I got a pretty nice hit, a double,” said the junior.

The Wildcats finish out the regular season with home games this week. Wednesday they meet Issaquah, and Friday they meet Sedro Woolley. Both games are at Centennial Fields; weather permitting, the games start at 4 p.m.