Cruse, Mountaineers Shut Out Beavers

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Ryleigh Cruse’s second career start went even better than her first, as the Rainier eighth grader flirted with a no-hitter in an 11-0 win for the Mountaineers over Tenino in six innings.

Cruse held the Beavers hitless over the first three innings of play, and got two outs into the fourth before Chloe Grayless lined a single into shallow right field. The Beavers reached on multiple errors the rest of the afternoon, but wouldn’t record another clean hit. Cruse finished with five strikeouts, issued three walks, and hit a pair of Beavers.

Rainier did the bulk of its damage in a pair of big innings. The Mountaineers dropped a four-spot in the first on a bases-loaded walk followed by a bases-clearing error, giving Cruse a lead to work with before she’d stepped into the circle for the first time. From there, Rainier added a run in the second and two more in the third, before putting up another four-run frame to get the game into run-rule territory.

Olivia Earsley went 2 for 3 with a walk at the top of the Rainier lineup, and came around to score all three times she got on base. Alyssa Lofgren drove in two runs and scored another, while Keira Anderson scored two runs.

Rainier will return home to take on 3A North Thurston on Wednesday, while Tenino will take on 3A Timberline on Thursday.