The Kayhi Lady Kings softball team took care of business against the Sitka Lady Wolves on Thursday, winning 12-0 in four innings on Dudley Field.
Kayhi scored early and often, putting up three runs in the bottom of the first. Their first run came courtesy of senior Hannah Moody. After junior Faith Easterly and senior Mackenzie Pahang reached on back-to-back, two-out walks, Moody stepped to the plate and hit a ground ball up the middle that split the middle infielders and scored Easterly.
Sophomore Marley Lewis followed by driving a ball to right field which was misplayed by Sitka junior Andrea Winger, allowing Lewis to reach base and scoring two more runs to give Kayhi a 3-0 lead.
Moody pitched the length of the game for Kayhi, allowing just one hit through four innings. Kayhi tallied seven hits on the day against Sitka’s sophomore pitchers Dalila Callahan and Kaiya Balovich.
Kayhi added four runs in the second inning, one driven in by Easterly on a sacrifice bunt, one from Pahang on a double and another by Moody on a single. Kayhi sophomore Riley Welk also scored from third on a throwing error by Sitka’s catcher.
The Lady Kings scored three more runs in the third, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from senior Paige Boehlert, a ground ball single by Welk and a Sitka throwing error to put Kayhi ahead 10-0. Kayhi tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth to force a 12-0 mercy rule win.
The game’s most exciting play came from Kayhi senior Shaelyn Mendoza in the top of the third inning. With runners of first and second, Sitka senior Chloe Morrison hit a line drive, which was caught by Mendoza. The Lady Kings shortstop then tagged Sitka junior Macee Jackson who was running on the play, and then fired to first to get a diving Kaleena Tucker to complete a triple play. It was Kayhi’s first triple play of the season.
Kayhi head coach Kalea Allen was pleased with her team’s performance. She praised her team’s defense, baserunning and ability to score with two outs.
“[It went] really well, we did a lot of good things,” Allen said. “We definitely capitalized on our two-out rallies, which is awesome. Our defense really stepped it up, even when we had runners on, they stayed calm. It was really fun to have those heads-up plays. Our baserunners, I give kudos to them for heads-up baserunning. When a ball was bobbled, the runners were gone, I didn’t even have to say anything. They played really well and played as a team.”
Speaking about Mendoza’s triple play, Allen again highlighted her team’s “heads-up” play and communication, calling it “pretty awesome.”
The Lady Kings remain on the winner’s side of the bracket with the victory, and will face Thunder Mountain at 11 a.m. on Friday for a chance to be crowned Region V champions and earn a berth to the state playoffs. Thunder Mountain will have to beat Kayhi twice to win the tournament.
*This article was originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News*
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