Moses Lake prevails in battle of CBBN unbeatens
CONNOR VANDERWEYST | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 6 months AGO
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Gina Skinner (maroon) slides under the tag of Wenatchee pitcher Kailey Sanford to score.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Brooklyn Bailey rounds third base and heads home after a solo home run in the third inning.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Michelle Turner runs the bases after a Gina Skinner double to left field.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Savannah Ashley (foreground) and Brooke Richardson come in to score in the first inning against Wenatchee.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake pitcher Gina Skinner delivers to the plate against Wenatchee. Skinner pitched a complete game.
Connor Vanderweyst/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake's Savannah Ashley (16) slides into home safely against Wenatchee.
MOSES LAKE — Forget the mitt-pounding fastball or knee buckling changeup.
Gina Skinner’s most valuable attribute as a pitcher might be her levelheadedness. Wenatchee strung together three consecutive hits in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, only to have Skinner regroup and allow one hit the rest of the game.
“She’s one of the best pitchers I’ve seen, coaching baseball or softball, of just nothing phases her,” head coach Mike Hofheins said. “She is focused on the next hitter. Defense makes an error, they get a hit ... I’ve seen her give up a home run and she just gets after the next hitter. Nothing phases her, so that’s one of her strengths, for sure.”
Moses Lake provided plenty of run support and handed Wenatchee its first Columbia Basin Big Nine loss 12-2 in five innings.
The rout began early.
Moses Lake sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring five runs. Savannah Ashley and Brooke Richardson hit consecutive RBI singles to give the Chiefs the lead for good. Brooklyn Bailey followed with a two-run double and Madison Olson ended the spurt with an RBI single that dropped into shallow right field.
“We were super excited because we want to be the only undefeated team in the league and that was our goal,” Bailey said.
Against a team averaging north of 16 runs per game, Moses Lake continued to apply pressure.
The Chiefs scored in every inning, including a solo shot Bailey golfed over the center field fence to lead off the third.
“We just talked about winning every inning,” Hofheins said. “I think we tied them 1-1 in one inning, but the rest of them I think we outscored them in each inning. You win every inning good things are going to happen.”
Moses Lake had one more “give an inch, take a mile” sequence in the fourth inning. Cheyenne Walker reached on a throw that pulled Wenatchee first baseman Mady Peters off the bag. Skinner added a second RBI double to her stellar day and later scored on a wild pitch. Ashley, who reached on a walk, also came in to score on a wild pitch.
Moses Lake clinched the win with a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Brooke Richardson skied a sacrifice fly ball to the right field fence and Skinner scored on another wild pitch after drawing a walk.
“Moses Lake and Wenatchee are really big competitors in general, so I feel like there’s always been that rivalry between us and I feel both teams come out aggressive,” Bailey said.
Score by innings
W — 1 0 1 0 0 2
ML — 5 1 1 3 2 12
Highlights: Skinner 5 IP, 7 K, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R; Bailey 2x2, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R; Richardson 2 RBI; Walker 3 R