Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Raiders rally in game two, sweep Stormin Pointers
Hughes, Sanchez each hit two HR’s; Raiders total six
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CENTER POINT — Resilience was required for the Class 3A No. 2 Williamsburg softball team to complete a sweep of 3A No. 13 Center Point-Urbana in a WaMaC softball doubleheader Tuesday.
After trailing 6-2 heading into the sixth inning, the Raiders scored five runs to take the lead, eventually winning 8-7 in extra innings.
“We’re a really gritty team,” senior Makenna Hughes said. “We know that when we’re behind we got to keep pushing even if we make a mistake.”
After the Stormin’ Pointers scored on a passed ball at the plate in the bottom of the second, Hughes delivered with her second home run in the doubleheader to get the Raiders on the board.
The following at-bat, Carly Rich hit a rare inside-the-park home run to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead.
The Stormin’ Pointers made their surge in the fourth.
After getting the bases loaded with no outs, Brynley Havel brought in two on a double. Grace Estling brought in three more on a bases clearing triple. The score was 6-2 heading to the fifth.
The Raiders’ bats got going again in the sixth, and they began their rally, which started with an Alley Gorsh solo home run over left field.
Two hits later and the Raiders had runners on second and third.
A fielder’s choice and RBI bunt from Kalon Spratt made things 6-5. Hughes drove in two more to give the Raiders the lead heading into the seventh.
“We focused a lot on making adjustments from our first at-bat and getting information on the pitcher the first-time through,” Taylor Sanchez said on the improved hitting later in the game.
After a lead-off double from CPU’s Ella Simon in the bottom of the seventh, an overthrow to first on a bunt brought Simon in.
The Stormin’ Pointers then had runners on second and third with one out, with a chance to win.
Two-straight forced fly-outs gave the Raiders new life.
Taylor Sanchez capitalized, hitting her second home run of the night way over the left field fence in the top of the eighth.
“I was in a hitter’s count in my last one (at-bat), so I kind of knew what pitch I was going for, and lucky for me she threw it,” Sanchez said on the game-winning home run.
The Raiders sealed the 8-7 win in the bottom of the inning in a highly entertaining game.
Game one was all Raiders. Williamsburg came out on top, 8-0.
After play was postponed Monday night due to weather, play resumed in the top of the third with the Raiders leading 1-0.
Gorsh started the scoring with an RBI double in the third.
Hughes hit a three-run shot in the fourth to go along with a Kiley Allen RBI.
Sanchez’s two-run home run in the fifth activated the run rule.
Jersey Metz threw all five innings, allowing just one hit. Metz also came in to pitch the last three innings of game two.
The Raiders totaled 15 hits in the two games with 14 RBIs and six home runs. Hughes led the way with six RBIs.
“We can really do about anything (at the plate),” said Hughes. “We’re good contact hitters, bunters and power hitters now.”
“We do a lot of hitting in the off-season and at practice. It’s all coming together and paying off for us.”
The Raiders moved to 20-5 and aim to continue cleaning up some stuff as several key conference doubleheaders remain in a tight WaMaC West race.
“Just limiting the little things, like a walk into a double or a passed ball,” Hughes said. “Eliminating those little things that can hurt us and giving up free bases is one thing we want to work on a lot.”
