MLHS softball falls to Richland
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 7 months AGO
Samantha Kling took a pitch to the head in the bottom of the sixth inning allowing her to get a free walk to first. Kling is okay and finished the game with her team.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Addisyn Reffett makes a dive for the ball securing a third out in the top of the fourth inning.
Paige Richardson was the Mavs’ main pitcher in their game against Richland.
Hayden Morris readies herself for a high ball that she caught for an easy out.
Junior Caitlin Decubber played in the outfield and ensured the ball got back to the diamond.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks softball team fell to Richland 3-8 Wednesday evening.
“Overall, as a team, I think we have a lot to work on, but I think we’re going places,” said junior Samantha Kling. “Everybody as a team works together and I think if we put some more work into our bats that we’re going to go places.”
Coach Mike Hofheins said that it was impressive that players were able to battle hard and keep their head in the game all the way up until the end.
“Even when we substituted, we had girls come in and really battle and give a quality at bat,” said Hofheins.
Going into this game the Mavs were familiar with Richland, having played the Bombers in the past. The problem they faced was giving the opponent a lot of leeway with extra outs and extra bases and not getting clutch hits when needed, Hofheins said.
“When you play a team that’s that good you can’t make that many mistakes and expect to stay in the games,” said the coach. “We have got to play cleaner to have a chance against them and we didn’t play clean enough.”
Moving forward the Mavs will use what they learned here as motivation as they look towards their first league game tonight. Players will put some focus on cleaning up their defense but overall will work on strengthening what they already do well, he said.
“We have some girls that are getting their first varsity action in some spots, so we just have to work on getting better,” he said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
The Mavs will play their first league game at Sunnyside this afternoon at 3 p.m.
Mavs Softball Roster
Name, Jersey, Grade
Hayden Morris, 2, 11
Jenika Balderas, 3, 12
Samantha Kling, 4, 11
Lila Johnson, 7, 11
Caitlin Decubber, 8, 11
Paige Richardson, 14, 12
Amilia Borchert, 16, 11
Eryn Eckenberg, 18, 12
Alina Lopez, 20, 11
Addisyn Reffett, 21, 11
Mya Martinez, 22, 9
Amelia Avalos, 25, 10
Addisyn Reffett makes a dive for the ball securing a third out in the top of the fourth inning.
Paige Richardson was the Mavs’ main pitcher in their game against Richland.
Hayden Morris readies herself for a high ball that she caught for an easy out.
Junior Caitlin Decubber played in the outfield and ensured the ball got back to the diamond.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Mavs claim District 5 swim and dive title
MOSES LAKE — The series of successful meets this season fully paid off for the Moses Lake Mavericks girls swim team over the weekend as the girls claimed the District 5 title. By the end of Saturday, the Mavs won the district meet with a score of 466 to Wenatchee's 449. "Just as we expected with Wenatchee, it was close all the way to the end. Could have gone either way, but it went our way," said Mavs Head Coach Tony Preston. "The girls were super excited to get their district championship."
Tigers qualify both boys and girls teams to state
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers Cross Country team continued their successful season in the District 5 and 6 Championships Saturday afternoon. Both the boys and girls had strong races to qualify for state with the boys taking third and the girls taking second. Tigers Head Coach Lyndsy Roberts said because of their high ranking all season the girls team set their sights high on the district meet. Heading into Saturday, they knew their toughest challenge would be against Ellensburg, who has been ranked second in the state all season.
Knights battle into district championships
ROYAL CITY — The second seeded Royal Knights (16-2-1) battled in a tight matchup against the third seeded Naches Valley Saturday afternoon in the district semifinals. Both teams put forward a strong effort, with the Knights securing a 1-0 victory. "We were all putting our heart out in this game and trying our best because we have a really good team this year," said Knights junior Sofia Villafana. "We were just giving it our all." The tone of the game was set from the very start as Royal and Naches Valley went back and forth on their attack. While the Knights controlled the ball for most of the first half, Naches Valley's defense kept things in check.