CV Bears win slowpitch title
Thursday afternoon’s setting was all too familiar.
The four-time regular-season champion University Titans again played host to their Greater Spokane League rivals – the Central Valley Bears – in the Greater Spokane League slowpitch softball title game.
But this time there was a different ending to the story as the Bears came up with timely hits and held off a late rally in a 6-1 victory over the three-time defending champion Titans (15-3).
“To have it be our crosstown rival always makes it that much more fun,” CV coach Joe Stanton said. “Every year it’s been a close game, and this year the ball bounced our way. We played a tough U-Hi team.”
The Bears (14-4) only outhit the Titans 13-10, but the timeliness of their hits were what made the difference.
McKenzie Shea finished with three hits, including a triple, and Miranda
Marlatt, Becky White and Sydney Salzman each finished with a pair of
hits for CV. Marlatt also tripled and scored two runs.
“We were able to get the hits when we needed them,” Stanton said. “We
had the triples with girls on (base), and we were just able to string
some hits together that really gave us an advantage.”
The Titans finally looked as if they were going to manufacture some
runs in the bottom of the sixth, but with two outs and runners on first
and second, Titans coach Jon Schuh signaled for Richael Paxson to round
third and head home – where she was tagged out at the plate by Salzman.
“I probably shouldn’t have sent her home right there, but we needed to
get something going and I thought that would give us a spark –
something to build on,” Schuh said. “Hindsight is 20-20, though. We did
finally started to play and have the atmosphere we typically have in
the seventh.”
But at that point it was too late.
With one out, Morgan Voelker, Devynne Johnson and Sandra Cleveland,
respectively, loaded the bases with three straight singles for U-Hi.
Voelker scored on Bree Baslington’s fielder’s choice on the next
at-bat, and with two outs Sara Bowden loaded the bases again with a
single to center field. But the Titans’ momentum ended abruptly with a
routine grounder to White at shortstop, whose throw to first base
barely beat Andrea Fitzsimmons.
“Of course the girls were disappointed with the loss, but I told them
if losing a softball game is the worst thing that happens in their
lifetime they’ve got it pretty good,” Schuh said. “We’ve played them
(three) times this season and even though it didn’t go our way, I do
think the two best teams played the game today.”