SNOQUALMIE – The Mount Si Wildcats softball team’s offense struggled mightily in their home opener March 22 at Centennial Fields in Snoqualmie, losing to the Sammamish Totems 3-1.
The Wildcats were playing without the services of sophomore infielder Katie Morgan, who was out with a broken finger she suffered while sliding into second base during the season-opening loss to Liberty. Morgan was not expected back until the middle of this week, if not longer.
“Katie is really important to this team. She makes a lot of things happen for us,” said Mount Si coach Larry White.
The injury forced team members to bat in unfamiliar spots in the order, said White, a fact that contributed to the team being held to just three hits.
Sammamish scored once each in the first, second and sixth innings, all off the Wildcats’ sophomore pitcher Kandis Clesson. Clesson gave up three runs on three hits, striking out six for the game.
Sophomore Tricia Coccia blamed the unstable effort on lack of preparation as a team.
“I don’t think we were ready to come play,” she said.
White added: “Sammamish didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves.”
The Wildcats suffered another blow on the injury front last week. Sophomore outfielder Amy Whitney will be out for a minimum of three weeks after having her appendix removed, according to White. Taking Whitney’s place is freshman JV call-up Camille Weber.
The other scheduled games last week, a road game at Bellevue, and a home game against league favorite Skyline, were both postponed due to rain.
This season all Mount Si home softball games are being held at Centennial Fields, located next door to Snoqualmie Elementary on Park Street. The move allows for fans to see both varsity and junior varsity games as the two contests will take place next to one another.
The team also has its own Web site this season. Created by Mount Si softball parent Gina Trenkamp, the site has a schedule, player information and other news and notes concerning the Wildcats’ program. The address for the site is http://24.18.203.53/~wildcats/, although a World Wide Web address for the site should be coming soon.
