Knights sweep district doubleheader, earns shot at state berth
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month AGO
Paige Christensen (24) steps into her swing while at bat for the Knights earlier this season. Royal defeated Kiona-Benton and Chelan to advance to the play-in game on Saturday.
MIKE MAYNARD/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
The Knights’ Sarah Bergeson (1) sends the ball on a line drive to the outfield while at bat earlier this season.
Lizzie Jenks (13) sprints toward third base during their game against Zillah.
Emerson Eilers (3) gets set on defense for the Knights. Eilers provided an offensive spark against Kiona-Benton on Wednesday.
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (18-7) defeated Kiona-Benton 6-1 and Chelan 10-0 Wednesday to advance to the play-in games in the 1A district 5 tournament. These key wins set them up to earn their shot at punching their ticket to the state tournament.
“Our first game was single elimination, so we knew we had to get that one done in order to move forward,” Head Coach Lisa Lawrence said. “The girls just came together (and) played as a team, played well, hit the ball well, and played good defense. Everything was clicking, and we got that one done, and followed it up with a great game against Chelan... Jill (Allred) pitched a great game, and we pulled it off.”
After falling behind 0-1 in the first inning to Kiona-Benton, the Knights rallied in the bottom of the third with four runs to take the lead. From there, the Knights defense held K-B scoreless as they added two more runs in the sixth to seal the win. In game two, Royal took a two-run lead over Chelan in the first inning and built on it the rest of the way. Five runs in the fifth inning were good enough for a 10-0 win.
Game one
Down by one in the bottom of the third inning against Kiona-Benton, the Knights offense broke open the game with four runs by Sarah Bergeson, Livi Wardenaar and Allred. This spark was thanks to a triple by Emerson Eilers, who eventually got home to help Royal take a 4-1 lead.
For the next two and a half innings the game remained scoreless. However, Hali Christensen and Paige Christensen scored to make it 6-1 heading into the seventh. Strong pitching by Allred forced three outs on Kiona-Benton which sealed the win.
Allred pitched all seven innings, allowing three hits, one run, zero walks and struck out 10 batters.
“The team is just hitting the ball hard. Jill was pitching a tremendous game. Everybody was working hard. It wasn't perfect, by any means, but the girls just persevered and found their way through and did a good job,” Lawrence said.
Eilers finished the game with one run and three RBIs.
“She's been a great leader all season and performs well,” said the coach. “She's very clutch for the team and has been for several years. I wasn't totally surprised to see she was the one who really came through. She had a double and a triple and all the RBIs. She had some great plays at shortstop. She's just that kid that rises to the occasion, and she certainly did that yesterday.”
Game two
It was a short turnaround for game two as they were set to face Chelan next, the winner advancing to Saturday’s game.
A single by Lizzie Jenks got things started offensively for the Knights as Eilers and Aurora Santillan got home. From there, Royal built their lead to 5-0 by the end of the fourth inning. Allred continued to hold it down in the pitching circle at the top of the fifth and held Chelan scoreless.
The Knights executed an offensive frenzy in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring five runs. After Avarie Hill, Kylee Orth, Paige, Wardenaar and Bergeson got home, the Knights sealed their second win of the day in five innings.
“We hit the ball really well against Chelan and moved runners and just got the job done on defense, and everything just came together. The team played well all the way through,” Lawrence said.
With the win, the Knights will host 10th seed Colville on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to the state tournament and the other concluding their season. At this time of year, manufacturing runs, playing as a team and doing what it takes to get on base and move runners is key, Lawrence said.
Like any team, they have had their ups and downs this season, but Lawrence is confident her team is peaking at the right time.
“We've had to battle and learned along the way, and I think we're just getting better and better each game,” she said.
BOX SCORE:
Game one
KBTN: 1-0-0-0-0-0-0: 1
ROYL: 0-0-4-0-0-2-X: 6
Game two
CHLN: 0-0-0-0-0: 0
ROYL: 2-1-0-2-5: 10
The Knights’ Sarah Bergeson (1) sends the ball on a line drive to the outfield while at bat earlier this season.
Lizzie Jenks (13) sprints toward third base during their game against Zillah.
Emerson Eilers (3) gets set on defense for the Knights. Eilers provided an offensive spark against Kiona-Benton on Wednesday.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
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