The Kayhi Lady Kings softball team lost to Thunder Mountain 4-2 in their first of a four-game road trip in Juneau on Thursday.
After two and a half scoreless innings to start the game, Thunder Mountain struck first in the bottom of the third when freshman Jenna Dobson hit an infield single that brought junior Tyler Johnson home. Johnson started the inning by reaching base on an error, one of four Kayhi errors on the day.
The Lady Kings responded in the top of the fourth by way of an infield single from senior Gabby Mas, which scored sophomore Taylor Jackson. Thunder Mountain answered right back, putting up two more runs in the bottom half of the frame on back to back errors by Kayhi infielders, both with two outs.
A leadoff single in the fifth by Kayhi senior Shaelyn Mendoza and another single from junior Mackenzie Pahang cut the Thunder Mountain lead back to one, but a two-out double from Thunder Mountain senior Sydney Strong and a single courtesy of senior Rileyanna Payne in the bottom of the frame plated the Falcons’ final run of the game. The 4-2 Thunder Mountain lead would prove to be too much for Kayhi, as the Lady Kings went down in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
Pahang and senior Hannah Moody handled the pitching for Kayhi. Pahang started the game and threw four innings, striking out four batters and walking two while allowing three runs, just one of which was earned. Moody pitched two innings with one unearned run, one strikeout and one walk.
Of Thunder Mountain’s four runs, only one was earned.
Pitching for Thunder Mountain were freshman Jack Lovejoy and senior Riley Harp. Lovejoy started the game and went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned), two walks and striking out three. Harp tossed two scoreless innings in relief, facing the minimum six batters and striking out two.
With the loss, Kayhi dropped to second place in the southeast region with a 5-2 conference record. They entered the game tied for first place with Thunder Mountain, which now holds sole ownership of the region’s top spot at 6-1 in conference play.
The Lady Kings now turn their attention to Juneau-Douglas, who they will face at 7 p.m. on Friday before playing a doubleheader against both Thunder Mountain and Juneau-Douglas on Saturday.
*This article was originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News*
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