TOLEDO – There wasn’t a sign of panic within the Adna High School softball team’s dugout. Even in a neck-and-neck league contest, its savvy group of upperclassmen wasn’t afraid of the adversity.
“This is the kind of game we’ve been playing for the past four years in this jersey,” leadoff hitter Danika Hallom said. “We came ready. We’re starting to get into our groove.”
In the blink of an eye, the reigning Class 2B state champions turned it on and kept their foot on the gas.
Ten runs in the final two innings propelled Adna to a 12-2 triumph over previously-unbeaten Toledo on Thursday afternoon in what was billed as a showdown between the top two teams in the C2BL.
Since a non-league setback to Bonney Lake, the Pirates (8-3, 4-0 C2BL) have won seven consecutive games and their offense has come alive, averaging 14 runs per contest.
“We’re playing harder and we’re getting a little bit tougher,” Adna head coach Bruce Pocklington said. “We’re getting quality at-bats, but more guys need to jump on board.”
When the top of the sixth inning started, Pocklington and the dugout felt the intensity of the moment. The lineup turned over to the top, the most dangerous part.
“We knew we had to get going and we were pretty fired up,” Hallom said. “It was time.”
A leadoff error and a single by Hallom put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Margarite Humphrey laid down a bunt and the throw to first sailed wide. Two runs came across and the Pirates went up 4-2.
That proved to be just the start.
Two more scored in the sixth, then the floodgates opened with a six-run seventh, capped by a two-run triple off the bat of Lena McCloskey. Ava Simms also registered a two-run single in the frame.
“As soon as we made them play defense, it changed the game,” Pocklington said. “That’s the way I want them to play all the time.”
Four errors in the sixth and six total for Toledo (8-1, 3-1) was its downfall. It attempted a rally in the bottom half of the sixth, but an infield fly then tagging a runner out between second and third ended the threat.
The Riverhawks were held to just four hits on the night.
“I don’t really think we quit; I don’t think our effort went less than 100 percent,” Toledo head coach Jeff Davis said. “We didn’t make some plays. We got to play clean to beat this team.”
Simms also notched three hits for Adna while McCloskey, Alyssa Carroll and Gaby Guard each had two.
For five innings, it was a competitive affair.
Toledo grabbed a 2-1 lead on a two-run error in the first, then Adna tied it up on a Humphrey sacrifice fly in the second. The Pirates stranded nine runners on base in the first four innings, including the bases loaded one time.
“We got into a hole for a second,” Hallom said.
Simms settled in and set down nine Riverhawk batters in a row at one point. She allowed two hits in the fourth and fifth, but danced out of the jams each time.
“I think we can beat them and I think the girls know that,” Davis said. “For five innings, it was nails for both of us. I think we’re fine.”
Toledo will try and rebound when it faces Rainier on Monday. The first contest will be a league game, the second a non-league matchup.
Meanwhile, Adna will face Raymond-South Bend in the non-league on Tuesday before battling Rainier next week in a C2BL contest.
