TOLEDO — Three innings into its non-league matchup against Mossyrock on Monday, Toledo held a two-run lead.
Two innings later, Kailea Lairson capped a Riverhawk rally with an RBI single, one that brought home the game-winning run in an 11-1 walk-off run-rule victory.
The Toledo offense came to life in the final two innings, scoring three in the fourth and five in the fifth to end it early.
“It did take us a while to get going,” Toledo coach Jeff Davis said. “But we made the adjustments and just hit the ball.”
By the time the fifth rolled around, the Riverhawks were firmly in control, but it was the Vikings who struck first.
Taylor Schwartz reached base to lead off the game on an error, and she came around to score on an RBI single from Chesney Schultz.
Toledo benefitted from an error in the bottom half to tie the game, and it took the lead on a passed ball and another error in the second.
That trend continued into the fourth, as the Riverhawks’ fourth run of the game scored on an error, and the first batter to reach in the fifth reached on another. By the end of the game, Mossyrock had five errors, and five unearned runs crossed the plate.
“You gotta be able to make plays,” Mossyrock coach Keith Coleman said. “You can’t give them more than three outs in an inning, and we definitely did that today.”
Coleman praised Erin Cournyer in the circle, saying she did everything she could to keep the Vikings in the game and that he “couldn’t ask for much more”.
As the Riverhawks saw her more, though, they were able to time her up better, and they ended the game with six consecutive hits.
Lairson finished the game a perfect 4 for 4, including a double, and she drove in a run, while Taysia Miller went 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI of her own.
Audrey Cooper and Zaya Norberg both collected two hits and combined to score five runs.
Peyton Holter settled in nicely in the circle, and she went on to allow just two hits and the one unearned run while striking out 10.
Holter helped lead the Riverhawks to the state semifinals last season as a freshman, and Davis is confident that she can continue to be that caliber of pitcher.
“She’s a gamer,” Davis said. “Last year as a freshman I thought she took some pretty big steps from her eighth grade year, and I am gonna continue to hope she makes big strikes this year. I think she is going to … Very proud of her.”
Holter is just a sophomore, but she is one of the group’s veterans. Toledo has no upperclassmen on the roster, and the sophomores and freshmen who went to Yakima last season are now the oldest members.
“They’re the oldest ones, and they can’t even drive yet,” Davis joked.
Schultz and Annika Ball collected Mossyrock’s two hits. Coleman is confident that as the weather gets better and the Vikings can get more live reps, they’ll settle in and get going.
“They battled,” Coleman said. “They just gotta get over that hump.”
Both teams will try to fit in games later this week despite the grim weather forecast, as Toledo (2-0-1) is set to host Winlock on Wednesday and Mossyrock (1-2, 0-1 C2BL) is scheduled to head to Toutle Lake on Thursday.
