It took a five-run outburst in the top of the night inning, but the Warriors capped their first spring in the Class 1A Evergreen League with a 12-8, nine-inning victory over the Eagles on Tuesday night on the road.
At 12-4 overall and 7-1 in the Evergreen League, Rochester ended up tied with Montesano, but in the two meetings, the former outscored the latter by 11 for the tiebreaker. The Warriors could be a top-four seed in the 1A District 1/4 tournament next week.
“When you have seven seniors that live and breathe softball, it is a really good thing,” Rochester head coach Joni Guerrero said. “We’ve probably played more innings collectively as a starting nine than most teams in the state. We hit goal one.”
Cheyenne Justice started the ninth with an RBI single to break the 7-7 tie, then an error, fielder’s choice and a two-run double off the bat of Leah Hartley capped the frame. Hartley, who threw all nine innings on 146 pitches, allowed just one run in the bottom half.
She also drove in four total runs on two hits plus recorded five strikeouts and only two of the runs were earned. Justice and McKenna Vassar each recorded three hits and crossed home plate three times for Rochester
The Warriors jumped out in front 6-2 on another outburst of five runs in the third. Elma tied the game with four runs in the sixth and both sides scored in the seventh to send the game to extras.
They have two games left, both non-league, one on Thursday against former league foe Black Hills and conclude the regular season at Castle Rock on Friday.
