Foster clutch for Mead
Megan Foster loves to hit. No, that’s not exactly right.
“I love to hit in pressure situations,” Mead’s senior catcher said Friday after her two-out, two-strike, two-run single helped the Panthers to a 4-2 Greater Spokane League softball victory at University High.
Foster’s big hit came in the sixth, and it came after Foster’s summer teammate, U-Hi pitcher Linse Vlahovich, had pitched five no-hit innings while striking out 13 as U-Hi jumped ahead 1-0.
But Sammie Raynor opened the sixth with a hard grounder to left for Mead’s first hit – and the first ball the Panthers got to the outfield. Leadoff hitter Chantel Hughes-Gardner then beat out her sacrifice-bunt attempt. An out later, the Panthers pulled a successful double steal before Vlahovich induced a pop up from Megan Bertolero.
With first open, Vlahovich, who took the loss despite yielding just four hits and striking out 16, worked around Mead pitcher Kim Watson, the walk loading the bases for Foster – who had already whiffed twice and who didn’t have fond memories of U-Hi’s field.
“We were leading and I made two errors, dropped two balls, and we lost,” said Foster of last year’s regular-season game between two of the best GSL teams. “I cried on the bus all the way home. There’s an aura about this place. They are also one of the best teams. But they lost a lot of seniors. This year our seniors want to do something special.”
Foster was referring to defending the Panthers’ GSL title, but she did something special with a 2-2 rise ball, driving it into right-center for a 2-1 lead. When freshman second baseman Katie Kine tripled to left-center on the next pitch, Mead had a 4-1 lead.
And U-Hi (0-1 GSL, 0-1 overall) only had six outs left. Against Watson (3-0), the league’s MVP, that’s not much.
The Titans’ senior shortstop, Angie Boardman, led off the bottom of the sixth, reaching second on a dropped fly ball. Two outs later she scored for the second time, but Watson yielded just a harmless two-out, seventh-inning single before shutting the door.
“We’ve come out here the past four or five years and lost,” Mead coach John Barrington said, “including last year’s heartbreaker. We wanted to establish, as a team, that we are going to stay part of the top of the GSL. That’s why this win is so important.”
The Titans won the 2003 state title. Mead took the 2004 GSL title.
“This is a big win,” Barrington said. “To beat a very good program on their field after the way we started, it says a lot.”
With Vlahovich virtually unhittable, the Titans turned to small ball to score the game’s opening run.
After Boardman’s fourth-inning opening grounder was deflected slightly by Watson, Hughes-Gardner couldn’t adjust and Boardman had an infield hit. The Titans then bunted three hitters in a row that resulted in a run and runners at second and third with one out. But Watson bore down, got a strikeout and a pop up, keeping the score 1-0 and setting the stage for Foster.
Who loves to hit – in pressure situations.
In other GSL action: Katie Stokes’ seventh-inning RBI single scored Lacy Kerr with the game-winner as Mt. Spokane edged visiting Central Valley 1-0. Kerr led off the bottom of the seventh with the Wildcats’ second hit off Whitney McDaniel (0-2), went to second on Jackie Purser‘s sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring the game-winner. Kristina DeMello (1-1) picked up the win for Mt. Spokane (2-0, 2-1). … The Clarkston Bantams (1-1, 1-1) took advantage of 11 walks from Lewis and Clark pitchers and routed the host Tigers (0-2, 0-2) 12-0. … Cassie Parker struck out five and Jamie Taxter went 2 for 3 with two RBIs to lead Rogers to a 9-7 win at West Valley. Rogers’ Brittney Labrum finished 2 for 3 with two runs. … Haley Pitts (1-0) struck out nine and drove in two runs, and Jessica Olmstead finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs as Cheney topped visiting Ferris 7-4.