Had the Lakewood Cougars been able to hit a single ball out of the infield, they might have stood a chance.
Had they been able to pick off a single South Whidbey Falcon attempting to steal a base, they might have stood a chance.
And had they been able to keep track of the Falcons’ razzle-dazzle baserunning in the third inning, they might have stood a chance.
As it turns out, none of that happened, so it wound up being a simple thing for the Falcon girls fastpitch team to shut the Cougars out 4-0 at home.
While the win was not as convincing as the 10-0 victory the Falcons scored over the Cougars at the same time last season, South Whidbey was in complete control of the game throughout — in much the same way they were when they used an 11-1 hitting edge against Mount Baker on the road to win 3-0 Tuesday.
Against the Cougars, the game came down to the third inning. After being frustrated by Cougar pitcher Laura Hellstrom in the first two innings, South Whidbey turned a lead-off walk by catcher Jenny Murphy into a lead. Moved ahead on a Lucy Daumen bunt and a Bronwyn Russell hit, Murphy came home on a Christie Robinson base hit to take her team up 1-0.
Then, with Russell on third, the Falcons did some nifty base running. On the first pitch to sophomore Carolann Lubach, Robinson beat the catcher’s throwdown to second base and Russell came home. A hit to left center by Lubach then brought Robinson home to take the score to 3-0.
The Falcons’ only other run came in the fourth when Murphy once again instigated, making it to first this time on an infield hit. Picking up second base courtesy of a Daumen walk, Murphy then came home on an RBI single by Russell.
On the mound for the Falcons, senior Ashley Lopez was almost unhitable, giving up just two singles for the game.
Neither team produced a single multiple-base hit.
Tuesday’s game was a lot of the same, but with more base runners for South Whidbey. On 11 hits, the Falcons were able to earn just three runs while they stranded 12 against Mount Baker. A two-RBI single in the first inning by Shannon Brown gave the Falcons the go ahead, while a Russell single sent Julie Robinson home for an insurance run in the sixth.
With sophomore ace Christie Robinson on the mound, the girls did not need a lot of padding on the scoreboard. She and catcher Carolann Lubach controlled the field as Robinson struck out 10 while giving up only one hit and one base on balls.
Now 6-0 in North Cascades Conference play and 9-0 overall, South Whidbey has been almost untouchable this year. The team has outscored opponents 69-4 this season. Next up for the team is their first showdown of the season with Nooksack Valley. The two teams play each other at Nooksack Valley High School Monday.
