Mount Si’s softball team is starting to get a groove. Two more wins last week put the Wildcats in the thick of the hunt for the top spot in Kingco 3A.
Last Monday, the Wildcats went to Mercer Island and made quick work of the Islanders, winning 20-0 in a game shortened due to the mercy rule. Kandis Clesson and Traci Barclay combined on a perfect game for Mount Si on the mound. Of the nine outs Clesson got, seven were strikeouts.
Several Wildcats did well at the plate. Catcher Katie Shaw went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in and a triple. Clesson, Barclay, Katie Morgan and Kyleen Sweepe all added two hits apiece to the effort. Morgan, in addition to her hitting, scored three times, as well.
The Wildcats came home last Wednesday and the bats kept on working, as they took care of the Bellevue Wolverines for a 7-4 win.
“We had some real clutch big hits with two outs in the innings and it really paid off for us today,” Wildcat coach Larry White said, crediting his team’s aggressiveness at the plate for the strong performance. “We were very aggressive at the plate and that’s the way we talked before the game; we wanted to be much more aggressive than we were last time down at Bellevue, and it paid off for us.”
Katie Brett went 2-for-2 with four runs batted in. Brett started things off in the first inning with a two out single, scoring Clesson and Sweepe. Freshman Melissa Webster hit a blast to center field in the bottom of the third off of Bellevue pitcher Ali Stanford. The ball fell just short of going out, but Webster got a double out of it. The hit scored Brett. Webster hit another shot in the fifth with two on, but the ball was snared by the Bellevue shortstop, resulting in a double play. The outfielder was pumped. “It feels amazing. I was so close on my second shot,” Webster said.
The Wildcats scored four more times in the bottom of the sixth. Brett singled with the bases loaded, scoring Clesson, Morgan and Sweepe. Brett advanced to second after the left fielder for Bellevue misplayed the ball, and the rout was on.
Bellevue had other ideas. They scored four times in the seventh to make it interesting, but by then it was pretty much done. Mount Si had gone to 6-2 in league with the victory.
“I’m feeling real good about where we’re at. This was a game that could have gone either way. As you know Bellevue is a very, very good team. I feel real fortunate that we’ve been able to get two from them,” White said.
Lynnae McKiernan also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-3.
The Wildcats are at home Wednesday against Liberty, then at Interlake Friday. The Wildcats wrap up the regular season next week with home games against Issaquah next Monday and Mercer Island next Friday for the final home game for the seniors, including Clesson Morgan, Alicia Elmore and Kali Walker. In between the two home games is a road game at Newport next Wednesday. Game times are 4 p.m.
