SNOQUALMIE – The Mount Si Wildcats’ fastpitch softball team opened a busy week by picking up its first Kingco league win of the year last Monday in a one-sided rout of the Interlake Saints. Sophomore pitcher Kandis Clesson pitched her first-ever high-school no-hitter, and was only two walks short of pitching a perfect game as Mount Si blanked the Saints 11-0 in six innings. The game was called early due to the 10-run rule.

“It was great. It felt so good. [Interlake’s] a good hitting team, so it was a fun thing to do,” said Clesson.

Clesson struck out 17 of the 18 hitters she faced. She was also one of several offensive stars for the Wildcats, going 3-4.

Junior infielder Kayla Jayne also went 3-4 with a double, and fellow junior Amy Trenkamp added a triple to the effort.

On March 30, things went south for Mount Si.

Despite another strong Clesson performance, the offense was cold, as the Wildcats lost 1-0 in eight innings to the dangerous Bellevue Wolverines in a rain makeup game at Hidden Valley Park in downtown Bellevue. Mount Si was only able to muster two hits as the Wolverines won on a single, scoring their runner from second base.

Clesson gave up two hits, and struck out 11 hitters.

On March 31, the team rebounded against their Valley rivals the Cedarcrest Red Wolves at Centennial Fields in Snoqualmie. The Wildcats got another outstanding Clesson effort. However, that nearly fell apart in the top of the sixth when she gave up a triple to the Red Wolves’ sophomore infielder Emily Comer that set up a Cedarcrest rally. That rally was snuffed out when Clesson struck out Red Wolves’ junior infielder Ana Cortez. Clesson and the defense then relaxed and put away Cedarcrest in a 3-2 victory.

“Today, we just really wanted to come out and prove ourselves because of our past games and we had a visual time before the game, and I think everybody visualized what they were going to do, and I think we just came out and did it,” said Jayne.

Clesson gave up only two runs on two hits, striking out 13 Red Wolves. Jayne went 2-2 with a double to lead Mount Si’s effort.

League leader Skyline came in Thursday, and the Spartans nearly no-hit a team for the second straight day. Coming off a no-hitter against the equally tough Issaquah Eagles, Skyline pitching only gave up one hit to the still-developing Mount Si team, in a 2-0 decision at Centennial in a rain makeup game.

To finish up the week on April 2, another Wildcat made history as Trenkamp hit what may have been her first high-school home run as Mount Si shut out the Newport Knights 5-0 at Centennial. The second-inning blast scored junior Sam Baldwin, who had singled with two out to set up Trenkamp’s big hit.

“I was just focusing on staying back because in the previous games I haven’t been hitting, and I’ve been lunging forward, and so [in] this game I was really focusing on just keeping my hands back and driving through the ball,” said Trenkamp.

Wildcats coach Larry White was pleased with the week offering special praise for his special pitcher.

“That was a long, grueling week and I’ll tell you, Kandis [Clesson] kept us in every single game. That girl pitches with a lot of heart and she’s just tough, and the girls keep rallying behind her,” said the coach.