- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 438,040
- Reaction score
- 44
Apr. 24—BOX SCORE
At Fort Borst Park
WOLVES 5, TIGERS 4
Black Hills 130 100 0 — 5
Centralia 011 000 2 — 4
BH Pitching — Maddie Knight 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 2 SO. Highlights — Kailey Miller 2-4, R; Emma Arko 1-4, 2 RBI; Makenna Oderman 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R
CEN Pitching — Hollynn Wakefield 7 IP, 11 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 SO. Highlights — Payton Baumel 4-4, R; Maddalyn Rothdeutsch 1-4, HR, RBI, R; McKenna Smith 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
For a first-year varsity starter, Black Hills High School softball player Maddie Knight got the full experience of high leverage action on Wednesday night.
She faced the bases loaded with two outs and saw a 5-2 cushion dwindle to one run. The freshman was staring at the tying run 60 feet away and the winning run at second base. And coming to the plate was one of the best power hitters in the Evergreen Conference.
Knight was unfazed.
"It is scary, but I am very proud of her," shortstop Kailey Miller said.
All Knight needed was three strikes to sit down Maddalyn Rothdeutsch, leave the bases loaded and get the Wolves out of Fort Borst Park with a 5-4 triumph over Centralia in an important league matchup.
Already with a 7-5 verdict over the Tigers, Black Hills (6-5, 3-4 EvCo) has the tiebreaker advantage if needed and a current one-game cushion for the fourth spot the league will have for the Class 2A District 4 tournament.
If the Wolves hold firm, they would be in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
"We talk about the situations in our league quite often and what these games mean," their head coach Mike Vessey said. "We didn't have confidence early, but I think we do now. They're battling, they're playing the way I expected them to."
Since Vessey took over as head coach in 2020, being in the mix for a postseason berth was far from common. When the league features state champions plus perennial state qualifiers — coupled with just four or five spots available — the chances get smaller.
Now with Rochester down in 1A and Shelton up to 3A, the league is at five 2A teams.
The chances have increased. The Wolves have taken advantage.
"Our coaches have made a huge difference, hyping us up," Miller said. "We treat each other like sisters. It is the chemistry being loud every pitch."
Knight only recorded two strikeouts, but induced seven groundouts and 11 fly outs. She danced around 10 hits and three walks in her fourth straight start. Ace pitcher Ella Goheen is currently sidelined with an injury, leading to Knight's increased activity in the circle.
Vessey has been quite impressed.
"I was way more nervous than she was," he said. "She's a quiet kid, but has a lot of confidence."
Centralia (4-7, 2-6) got back-to-back singles from Payton Baumel and Chloe Bonomi to put the winning run at the plate. An infield error, then an RBI single by Makenzie Erickson, made it 5-4. Rothdeusch swung on the final two pitches to send Black Hills into euphoria.
The Tigers' losing streak sits at six games. They're averaging just 3.6 runs per night since beating W.F. West 3-2 and Wednesday was just the second time they didn't have multiple errors.
"When the offense is good, the defense hasn't been great; when the defense is great, the offense hasn't been there," Centralia assistant coach Kyle Sprague said. "It's not putting the two together. We haven't put all three phases together yet."
Two days after falling to Aberdeen, yet showcasing plate discipline that led to seven walks on Grand Canyon prospect Lilly Camp, the Wolves continued the trend versus Hollynn Wakefield.
They extended at-bats early and jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two complete innings. Lily Shipe notched a run-scoring single in the first, Emma Arko drove in two on a base hit in the second and Makenna Oderman also added a run-scoring hit.
Three of the four tallies came with two outs. Black Hills added the key insurance run in the fourth.
"Some big at-bats," Vessey said.
Miller and Oderman each recorded two hits for Black Hills. It gets Tumwater at home in the second meeting of the season on Friday.
"We changed our approaches, adjusted and the energy was a huge deal and we brought that into today," Miller said. "Very happy with all the freshmen and upperclassmen."
Centralia left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and stranded nine total runners. Rothdeutsch launched a solo home run in the second and Baumel went 4-for-4 at the plate.
It faces the Bearcats at Recreation Park on Friday. The first time was a pitcher's duel and Sprague believes it has the potential to be a get right game.
"Scraping some wins here and there is the name of the game (and) at some point, the math comes into it," he said. "Go get that one, ride into the rest and see where it puts us. That'd be great."
Continue reading...
At Fort Borst Park
WOLVES 5, TIGERS 4
Black Hills 130 100 0 — 5
Centralia 011 000 2 — 4
BH Pitching — Maddie Knight 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 2 SO. Highlights — Kailey Miller 2-4, R; Emma Arko 1-4, 2 RBI; Makenna Oderman 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R
CEN Pitching — Hollynn Wakefield 7 IP, 11 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 SO. Highlights — Payton Baumel 4-4, R; Maddalyn Rothdeutsch 1-4, HR, RBI, R; McKenna Smith 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
For a first-year varsity starter, Black Hills High School softball player Maddie Knight got the full experience of high leverage action on Wednesday night.
She faced the bases loaded with two outs and saw a 5-2 cushion dwindle to one run. The freshman was staring at the tying run 60 feet away and the winning run at second base. And coming to the plate was one of the best power hitters in the Evergreen Conference.
Knight was unfazed.
"It is scary, but I am very proud of her," shortstop Kailey Miller said.
All Knight needed was three strikes to sit down Maddalyn Rothdeutsch, leave the bases loaded and get the Wolves out of Fort Borst Park with a 5-4 triumph over Centralia in an important league matchup.
Already with a 7-5 verdict over the Tigers, Black Hills (6-5, 3-4 EvCo) has the tiebreaker advantage if needed and a current one-game cushion for the fourth spot the league will have for the Class 2A District 4 tournament.
If the Wolves hold firm, they would be in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
"We talk about the situations in our league quite often and what these games mean," their head coach Mike Vessey said. "We didn't have confidence early, but I think we do now. They're battling, they're playing the way I expected them to."
Since Vessey took over as head coach in 2020, being in the mix for a postseason berth was far from common. When the league features state champions plus perennial state qualifiers — coupled with just four or five spots available — the chances get smaller.
Now with Rochester down in 1A and Shelton up to 3A, the league is at five 2A teams.
The chances have increased. The Wolves have taken advantage.
"Our coaches have made a huge difference, hyping us up," Miller said. "We treat each other like sisters. It is the chemistry being loud every pitch."
Knight only recorded two strikeouts, but induced seven groundouts and 11 fly outs. She danced around 10 hits and three walks in her fourth straight start. Ace pitcher Ella Goheen is currently sidelined with an injury, leading to Knight's increased activity in the circle.
Vessey has been quite impressed.
"I was way more nervous than she was," he said. "She's a quiet kid, but has a lot of confidence."
Centralia (4-7, 2-6) got back-to-back singles from Payton Baumel and Chloe Bonomi to put the winning run at the plate. An infield error, then an RBI single by Makenzie Erickson, made it 5-4. Rothdeusch swung on the final two pitches to send Black Hills into euphoria.
The Tigers' losing streak sits at six games. They're averaging just 3.6 runs per night since beating W.F. West 3-2 and Wednesday was just the second time they didn't have multiple errors.
"When the offense is good, the defense hasn't been great; when the defense is great, the offense hasn't been there," Centralia assistant coach Kyle Sprague said. "It's not putting the two together. We haven't put all three phases together yet."
Two days after falling to Aberdeen, yet showcasing plate discipline that led to seven walks on Grand Canyon prospect Lilly Camp, the Wolves continued the trend versus Hollynn Wakefield.
They extended at-bats early and jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two complete innings. Lily Shipe notched a run-scoring single in the first, Emma Arko drove in two on a base hit in the second and Makenna Oderman also added a run-scoring hit.
Three of the four tallies came with two outs. Black Hills added the key insurance run in the fourth.
"Some big at-bats," Vessey said.
Miller and Oderman each recorded two hits for Black Hills. It gets Tumwater at home in the second meeting of the season on Friday.
"We changed our approaches, adjusted and the energy was a huge deal and we brought that into today," Miller said. "Very happy with all the freshmen and upperclassmen."
Centralia left the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and stranded nine total runners. Rothdeutsch launched a solo home run in the second and Baumel went 4-for-4 at the plate.
It faces the Bearcats at Recreation Park on Friday. The first time was a pitcher's duel and Sprague believes it has the potential to be a get right game.
"Scraping some wins here and there is the name of the game (and) at some point, the math comes into it," he said. "Go get that one, ride into the rest and see where it puts us. That'd be great."
Continue reading...
