Skillingstad mows down Titans

Speed breeds pressure. And pressure on a softball diamond breeds mistakes.

In what could prove to be the Greater Spokane League title-deciding game, host Shadle Park High brought the speed – offensively and defensively – Tuesday and U-Hi made the mistakes in the Highlanders’ impressive 7-0 win.

Freshman Sam Skillingstad supplied the speed from the circle, as the GSL’s earned run average leader utilized every corner of the strike zone – up, down, in and out – in a one-hit, 17-strike out performance.

Skillingstad was only one pitch from perfection – a fourth-inning slider to U-Hi shortstop Angie Boardman didn’t slide and Boardman bounced it sharply into centerfield – against a lineup that was averaging more than seven runs a game coming in.

“Sam likes to work fast and if she gets on you early, she is really tough,” said Shadle’s senior catcher Randi Sandifer, who had two of the Highlanders’ five hits, including a triple. “She’s just learned a screwball and we threw it a lot today to start hitters off and get ahead. She was able to move it and her rise ball around inside and outside.”

Skillingstad, who is 8-1 overall and has yielded only three earned runs in 51 1/3 innings in her first GSL season, exhibits a maturity that belies her 14 years.

“We call her Nails,” said Shadle coach George Lynn. “She has incredible poise out there; she’s just incredibly mature as a pitcher. She’s a freshman who plays big all the time.”

And she came up big in a big game. The teams were tied atop the GSL standings coming in, but the win upped the Highlanders’ GSL mark to 12-1 (13-1 overall) with only six games left – all against teams with under .500 league records. U-Hi drops to 11-2, though the Titans’ schedule down the stretch features only one team with a winning league mark.

“This was a big accomplishment,” Skillingstad said of the win. “They are a great team. We had a really good team effort.”

It may be a cliché, but it held true Tuesday.

The Highlanders’ offense, which features eight hitters batting better than .300 and five above .400, put pressure on the Titans from the first hitter and never let up.

That leadoff hitter, shortstop Brittany McNeal, worked U-Hi starter Linse Vlahovich (10-2) for a walk, stole second and third, then scored on freshman China Frost’s squeeze bunt.

The next inning Skillingstad led off and reached when an inside pitch nicked her arm. Courtesy runner Jess Berlinger advanced to second on Kinze Powell’s sac bunt. Stephanie Trudeau was safe on Boardman’s throwing error – the second of three the Titans would commit – putting runners on first and third.

Of course Trudeau took off and, when the throw sailed into centerfield, Berlinger walked home. But Shadle wasn’t done.

After Trudeau took third on a wild pitch, Brittany McNeal walked an out later and, after playing cat-and-mouse with Boardman around first base, finally took off for second. When the Titans didn’t handle the rundown, Trudeau scored to make it 3-0.

“If they play our game, we don’t have to worry about playing theirs,” Sandifer said of the Highlanders’ aggressive base running. “We push and push, like that first-and-third situation. The more pressure we put on them, the harder it is for them to get comfortable.”

A 3-0 lead was more than comfortable for Skillingstad, but the Highlanders played add-on in the sixth, using a walk, a double and two home runs for four more runs. The dingers came from Stephanie McVay – a high drive to left center – and Powell – a line-drive down the left-field line that disappeared over Shadle’s hill.

“Hitting is just as important as the pitching,” Sandifer said. “No matter how good the pitching is, if you don’t score, it’s 0-0 and you’re playing extra innings.”

Elsewhere in the GSL: Mt. Spokane (11-4 overall, 11-3 in the GSL) rode the five-hit pitching of Kristina DeMello to a 3-0 win over visiting East Valley (8-7, 7-7), moving within a game of second-place U-Hi. DeMello (7-4), who struck out nine, was supported by two first-inning runs and a 2-for-3 effort from Jenn Andrews. … Gonzaga Prep (11-4, 10-4) also kept pace, as Jenna Sayman earned her first win of the year, a 10-0 five-inning four-hit shutout of host Ferris (0-15, 0-14). The Pups’ 12-hit attack was paced by Katie Antich’s three hits and four runs scored. … Visting Clarkston (5-10, 4-10) broke out to a 8-0 lead then held off a seventh-inning rally to top Rogers (5-9, 5-8) 12-9. Kristin Wilson picked up the win and also was two-for-three with a double. The Pirates’ Jamie Taxter had three hits and three RBIs. … Kim Watson tossed a complete-game three-hitter and went 3 for 3 at the plate to lead the Mead Panthers (11-3, 10-3) to a 2-0 road win over the Central Valley Bears (10-5, 9-5). … Reanne Cumbie drove in three runs and Jami Schibel hit a solo home run to power the North Central Indians (6-7, 6-7) to an 11-2 road win over the West Valley Eagles (4-10, 4-9). … Jessi Labish struck out seven batters in a complete-game two-hitter and the Cheney Blackhawks (4-11, 4-10) scored four runs in the sixth inning in a 4-0 win over the visiting Lewis and Clark Tigers (2-12, 2-12).