PE ELL — Though the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley softball team got off to a slow start, it rallied late in Game 1 and dominated Game 2 to finish senior night with a 7-4, and 21-1 wins Tuesday afternoon.
In the first contest, the Titan bats took awhile to come alive, falling behind 4-0 before putting seven runs on the board over the course of the fifth and sixth innings.
Lauren Matlock went a perfect 4 for 4 at leadoff with three runs scored and a double, and Lorelei Smaciarz went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a double. Payton Peterson added a 2 for 4 line with a run scored and two RBIs to lead the way.
The Titans got behind after some errors, an issue that plagued them in the early part of the season.
“I think we started out rough with our defense,” PWV coach Eric Hopfer said. “Without looking at this game, things have been moving along pretty good. We’ll get back on track and clean up those errors.”
Lauren Emery threw a complete game in the circle, allowing the four runs, all unearned, on three hits with no walks. Emery also struck out 13 in a dominant showing.
The Titans quickly corrected their defensive mistakes in the second game, and peppered 18 hits across the field in a 21-1, four inning, win to sweep the doubleheader.
Matlock went 3 for 5 with four runs scored, a double and a triple, Jillian Hodel went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and five RBIs, and CJ Sipp went 3 for 4 with four runs scored and two RBIs.
Emery started the first three inning, allowing one run on two hits with a strikeout, and Hodel finished the final three outs, and struck out two.
“We just have to hit that ball, we just have to put it in play,” Hopfer said. “After seeing Ocosta last week, I think we came out a little ahead of the ball, we had to get our timing back and square up on the ball.”
Replacing almost its entire infield, and star pitcher and batter Olivia Matlock in the circle from a year ago, Hopfer is confident in his squad and how they’ve stepped into new roles this season.
With just a few games left until the postseason and a hopeful district run, the defending 2B state champions — while looking a bit different from a year ago — are hoping to continue to clean up their defense while keeping their bats hot.
“I think they’re stepping up,” Hopfer said. “They’re learning what their roles are, not all of them have played these positions, and they’ve had to step up and get it figured out, and they are. Offensively, they’ve stepped up since day one. There’s been some dry spells within games but we’ve stepped up and hit the ball well in every game.”
