Vanwert Does It Again In Win

There is something about pitching on Tuesday that brings out the best in Mead pitcher Holly Vanwert.

For the second straight Tuesday, Vanwert threw a no-hitter as the Panthers beat Gonzaga Prep 10-2.

Last week’s no-hitter came in a 19-1 rout over Lewis and Clark.

Impressive, even if the Bullpups and Tigers have combined to go 4-15 on the season.

At 5-1, Vanwert said she feels comfortable taking the mound because of the players around her.

“I think the defense is strong behind me,” Vanwert said. “If anything goes wrong, they are there to back me up.”

Although Vanwert, a junior, has been playing softball since the second grade, she has only been a pitcher since the eighth grade.

“I just picked it up right away and I’ve had fun with it ever since,” she said.

And now GSL opponents are paying the price.

At Mead, the Panthers (10-1) used three hits and an RBI from Holly Turner and Kelly Kinder had two hits and a two-run homer to beat the Bullpups (3-7).

In other GSL games, Rogers beat Lewis and Clark 13-0, Shadle Park beat Ferris 22-21 and University topped Central Valley 4-3.

At University, the Titans (9-2) scrambled from behind, scoring all their runs in the top of the sixth.

CV (6-5) rallied from a 4-1 deficit to cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh. But with two outs, the tying run was thrown out at third base.

At Rogers, the Pirates (9-2) rode the hitting of Shannon Zahrowski and Charlotte Perry for the win agains LC (1-9). Zahrowski batted 3 for 4, had an RBI, scored three runs and had two stolen bases. Perry went 2 for 3, scored twice and drove in a run.

At Shadle, the Highlanders’ (3-8) Angie DeMain scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth against Ferris (1-9).

On Thursday, Central Valley travels to Ferris, North Central is at Shadle Park, Mead is at University, Gonzaga Prep visits University. Rogers is idle.

Prep and LC play at 4 p.m. The other games are at 3:45.

Baseball

Central Valley defeated University 8-2, Shadle Park topped Ferris 9-6 and Rogers downed Lewis and Clark 7-4 as the Bears, Highlanders, Titans and Pirates moved to 7-4 atop the division.

Gonzaga Prep’s 7-2 win against Mead moves the Bullpups to 6-4, while Ferris falls to 6-5, Mead is at 5-6, idle North Central is at 3-7 and LC is 0-10.

At Shadle, Highlanders pitcher Aaron Hancock scattered 10 hits and struck out nine Saxons.

Eric Sandberg had a three-run homer for Ferris.

At Mead, the Bullpups’ Steve Gleason smacked a three-run homer in the sixth inning to put Mead down for the count.

At CV, Jeremy Nesbitt hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Todd Sears batted 3 for 4 to lead the Bears to victory.

At Seafirst Stadium, Rogers pitcher Erik Pearson had six strikeouts to move his record to 5-2 on the year.

On Thursday, Ferris and Central Valley play at Seafirst Stadium, North Central is at Shadle Park, Mead is at University, Lewis and Clark is at Gonzaga Prep. Rogers is idle.

All games, with the exception of Prep and LC (4 p.m. start), will begin at 3:45 p.m.

In less than a month, the top two teams from the Greater Spokane League will travel to the site of the Big 9 conference winner to determine who will go to the state AAA playoffs on May 26 and 27 to be played at Seafirst Stadium.

In the latest Washington State High School Coaches Poll, Kamiakin (8-0) was ranked No. 3 and Wenatchee (7-1) was ranked No. 8.

University was ranked No. 10 when it had a 5-2 record, but has fallen from the top 10 after going 2-2 since then.