ADNA — Paced by a dominant day in the circle for reigning league player of the year Karlee VonMoos, the Adna softball team defeated Rainier 9-1 in a matchup of Central 2B unbeatens Thursday afternoon.
The Pirates smacked 17 hits across the field, getting plenty of runners in position to score, but didn’t quite put away the Mountaineers until late, when Ava Simms mashed a 3-run homer in the sixth.
Still, the runs the Pirates did manage were more than enough. Starter VonMoos allowed just one hit in the circle, and walked two with 13 strikeouts, with the only Mountaineer run scored off two errors in the second.
“She was ready to go, she’s a competitor,” Adna coach Bruce Pocklington said. “She’s a great athlete, and she wants to play hard all the time.”
At the plate, the Pirates had more than enough hits, but left nine on base and felt like they could’ve had more, despite strong play from the Rainier defense and starting pitcher Ryleigh Cruse.
Simms went 3 for 4 with two runs, three RBIs and the home run, leadoff hitter Danika Hallom went 2 for 4 with two runs scored, Brooklyn Loose went 3 for 4 with three runs and an RBI, and VonMoos went 3 for 4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Emerson Nelson added a 2-RBI double in the early goings of the game.
“We need to learn how to put people away,” Pocklington said. “It was funny because last week, up until yesterday and today, we’ve been pounding the ball and we were finding holes. When we’re hitting the ball down and hard, we’re really good. We hit the ball hard today, but you have to make these teams play defense and we’re not doing that enough.”
Raychel Hansen had Rainier’s lone hit, and Brooklynn Swenson scored its lone run in the second inning off of back-to-back errors. Cruse threw a complete game, with eight of the nine runs earned on 17 hits with one walk and one strikeout.
The Adna win propels the Pirates into sole possession of first in the Central 2B League, without a single loss in league play, while the Mountaineers suffered their first defeat of the season against the reigning 2B state runners-up.
The Pirates take on Onalaska in a doubleheader next week on the road on Monday, while the Mountaineers hope to bounce back against Napavine at home.
“I don’t worry about any of that stuff, I worry about us,” Pocklington said of the league standings. “We just have to clean some stuff up and play just a bit better. We’re working on it, they’re never on my timeline, I want it done right yesterday, but we’ll get there.”
