Tenino held Yelm to just five hits but could only muster four of its own in a 4-0, shutout road loss to the Class 3A Tornados on Tuesday.
The loss ruined a commendable outing for Beavers’ ace Emily Baxter, who struck out 11 batters and allowed just two earned runs on five hits and three walks.
But as Baxter was fanning Tornado batters, Yelm’s pitcher Madisyn Erickson was doing damage of her own to the Beavers’ lineup, striking out eight while allowing no runs on four hits and a walk.
The Beavers, who were coming off a 10-error loss to Centralia on Friday, shored up their defense on Tuesday and committed just one error against the Tornados.
“We played pretty solid, defensively,” Tenino coach Chris Johnson said.
And the Beavers were within striking distance throughout, notched at 0-0 through three innings and were down just 2-0 entering the sixth. They had runners in scoring position in four different innings.
“We just couldn’t string together any hits,” Johnson said. “Their pitcher settled in and shut us back down.”
Alivia Hunter led the Beavers offensively, going 2 for 3 at the plate, while Baxter (1-3) and Kayla Feltus (1-3) each added hits. Johnson praised Juliana Luken for her defensive performance at first base.
“We’ve been getting better at the little things,” Johnson said. “We’re just working on finding our groove.”
Tenino (1-3) next hosts Rainier in another non-league clash at 4 p.m. on Thursday,
