With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Centralia seemed to have the upper hand.
The Tigers were down one, but they had two runners in scoring position, and a base hit to the outfield would be enough to bring them home for the win.
Toledo’s Peyton Holter didn’t let that happen, however, as the freshman pitched out of the jam to polish a 4-3 Toledo win.
A weak ground ball and infield pop-up was enough to keep Centralia from tying the game, and the Riverhawks left Fort Borst Park happy.
Holter went the distance for the Riverhawks, allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) while walking five and striking out seven.
“She pitched her butt off,” Toledo coach Jeff Davis said. “She has come a long way.”
Davis went into the game with a plan to pitch Holter and Brenna Carver, Toledo’s other pitcher. But when he saw that Holter was firing on all cylinders, he elected to let it ride.
“We had her (Carver) ready to go,” Davis said. “Peyton earned those innings.”
Holter not only put the game away at the end, but she helped Toledo stay within striking distance in the middle innings.
The Tigers (1-2) took a 1-0 lead in the second on a sacrifice bunt from Makenzie Erickson, and they tacked on two more with four straight hits in the fourth. Makayla Chavez and Payton Baumel both brought home runs on RBI singles, and Centralia took a 3-0 lead into the fifth.
Hollynn Wakefield had been dominant in the circle to that point, allowing just one hit in the first four innings, but the Riverhawks started to adjust at the plate.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, Mialeigh Jurica got the Riverhawks on the board with a two-run single, and Brynn Davis tied the game with an RBI knock of her own.
“It’s easier to get up as things are going more your way,” Davis said. “But it has to start somewhere … They kept battling.”
After a scoreless sixth, Brynn Davis came through with another RBI single, one that gave the Riverhawks a 4-3 lead and held up as the game-winner.
After the Tigers couldn’t execute in the bottom of the seventh, Centralia coach David Orr said that on Monday, it was the little things that flipped the outcome of the game.
“We didn’t execute some of the small ball stuff in the right moments,” Orr said. “We fix a few of those things and instead of outs, those are runs on the board.”
Wakefield ended up on the hook for the loss, allowing seven hits and four runs (three earned), but she struck out 12 and didn’t walk a single Riverhawk.
“Hollynn was lights out,” Orr said. “I can’t ask for more than that. She comes out and does that every day, we should win.”
Orr noted that the Tigers will need to fix things quickly, as they’ll start league play on Wednesday at Shelton.
As for the Riverhawks, they’re off until Friday, when they’ll go to Ocosta.
