Showing some positive signs in spite of a tough loss, the Mount Si High School softball team opened their Kingco schedule against Issaquah last Tuesday, March 11.
Mount Si fell 4-0 to the Eagles, with Issaquah scoring all of runs unearned due to Wildcat defensive miscues.
However, it was a breakout day for Wildcat freshman Megan Stone, as she went 2-3 with a double. Danielle Covello also added a double, and Kyleen Sweepe pitched in a single to aid the offensive effort. However, it was not enough in the end.
“I think we were a bit nervous,” Mount Si coach Larry White wrote in an e-mail to the Valley Record.
Katie Brett had a good outing on the mound, with four shutout innings.
The home opener against Liberty last Thursday, March 13, was rained out, giving the Wildcats an extra day to prepare for their first road trip across the Cascades since 2005. The trip took them across the pass to Wenatchee for games last Saturday, March 15, with the Columbia Basin League’s Eastmont Wildcats and Moses Lake Chiefs.
In game one against the Chiefs, Mount Si took an early lead only to see Moses Lake come back and take the 3-2 decision. Sweepe hit a solo home run to open the scoring for the Wildcats. Katie Shaw scored the second Mount Si run, aided by a Melissa Webster double. The Chiefs rallied to tie in the fifth with a pair of runs against Wildcat starting pitcher Brett. Mount Si’s defense committed a costly error in the seventh which allowed Moses Lake to score the game-winning run.
The second game featured the battle of the Wildcats, those from the Valley against those of Eastmont, located in East Wenatchee. It was one great “cat” fight, which ended with a 7-5 win for the ladies from the Valley.
The ‘Cats from east of the Cascades broke out to an early 2-0 lead, only to see a budding star freshman strike again in the third inning, as Mount Si’s Stone hit her first high school home run to tie the game at 2-2. The home run also scored Kelsey Walker.
Eastmont then retook the lead, building it to 5-2 before scarlet and gray woke up in a big way. A single by Traci Barclay in the sixth scored a pair of runs for the Wildcats to start the rally, then Mount Si tied it at 5-5 on another single by Savannah Maddux that scored Covello. The Valley’s ‘Cats ultimately took the lead for good, then back to back doubles by the Katie’s, Shaw and Brett gave the Wildcats necessary insurance. A line drive by Eastmont was snared at third base by Mount Si to seal the win.
Mount Si has back-to-back home games to close out the week, Thursday against Bellevue and Friday against Auburn. The game against the Trojans closes out the nonleague schedule for the Wildcats. First pitch for both games is 4:30 p.m.
