Buoyed by a six-run third-inning, Toledo fastpitch was able to double-up Onalaska for a 12-6 opening-season victory at home Tuesday.
“Really good way to start the year,” Toledo’s second-year coach Chad Williams said.
Senior Haileigh Holmes, junior Greenlee Clark and sophomore Abbie Marcil each led the Indians offensively, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs a piece. The Indians collected 10 total hits and committed one error.
“Clark hasn’t played since middle school and she had a really big out at second base in the seventh inning,” Williams said. “Abbie played fantastic behind the plate and Holmes made some big plays at shortstop in the seventh inning.”
Holmes made a nice backhand stop at shortstop with two outs in the top of the seventh and made a nice throw to third for a forceout and the final out of the game.
Sophomore ace Bethany Bowen pitched her first-career complete game, going all seven innings while striking out five, allowing 13 hits and walking three.
Onalaska was led offensively by Hannah James, who went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs. Dylan Zigler went the distance on the mound for the Loggers, logging nine strikeouts, including striking out the side in the bottom of the first.
“I’m gonna give the first inning to her,” Williams said. “We were nervous but we settle down and had that big third inning.”
Toledo (1-0) travels to Morton-White Pass on Thursday while Onalaska (0-1) travels to Toutle Lake on Wednesday.
Lauren Dumoulin couldn’t have asked for a better first game as Winlock’s head coach as her Cardinals erupted for a 24-5 victory over Kalama during a sunny, five-inning season opener Tuesday at home.
“We looked pretty good,” Dumoulin said. “We have some things to work on but a good start, for sure.”
Kalama scored one run in the first, two in the second and three in the third. Winlock answered back every time, scoring four in the first inning, eight in the second, seven in the third and five runs in the fourth.
“It was a productive day,” Dumoulin said. “We were up for the challenge.”
Junior Addison Hall led the charge offensively for the Cards, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a triple, double and two walks. Maddy Rohman, Maia Chaney and Karlie Jones each went 2-for-3, with Rohman adding one walk and two runs, Chaney scoring three times and walking twice and Jones scoring four runs and walking twice.
Jones pulled double duty, going the distance on the mound, throwing all five innings while fanning seven and allowing just two hits.
“She did great,” Dumoulin said. “From the first inning, she had a presence and led the team. Everyone rallied around her, defensively, and we gave her help with the bats. She did an awesome job. When things weren’t quite working, she was making adjustments and getting it done.”
Winlock (1-0) now faces the defending 2B state champions when they travel to Adna (0-0) on Thursday for a 3:45 p.m. match.
A young Napavine team starting two eighth graders and no seniors was one-hit by Toutle Lake as the Tigers were shutout 13-0 on the road in five innings during Tuesday’s season opener.
Dani Tupuola collected the lone hit for the Tigers while Kailyn Milton went all five innings on the mound, fanning four batters, allowing eight hits and walking two.
“She did everything we needed her to do and threw strikes,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said of Milton.
Toutle Lake, a team that qualified for the 2B state tournament in 2019, was bolstered by a seven-run third inning and took advantage of Napavine’s eight errors on the day.
“It’s going to be hard to win when you do that,” Fay said. “We need to do a better job cleaning that up… They’re a good team, they put the ball in play.”
Some bright spots for the Tigers other than Milton on the mound was their outfield play, which Fay praised for being perfect on flyball opportunities and getting the ball in quickly.
“We’re going to get better,” Fay said. “It’s going to take time and we’ll continue to improve during this short season. Central 2B League softball is similar to Central 2B League football in that there are a lot of good teams.”
The Tigers (0-1) get back into action Thursday when they host Stevenson.
