Prep softball: Mt. Spokane senior pitcher Kimber Tutt progresses quickly

Kimber Tutt wishes she would have started pitching years ago.

As it is, the Mt. Spokane senior looks like a veteran in the circle despite waiting until last year to give pitching a try.

“I knew that the varsity team here didn’t have a select pitcher,” said Tutt, who struck out seven on Tuesday while handing University its first Greater Spokane League setback in a 5-3 decision at Mt. Spokane. … “I thought that I had a good attitude and good enough drive to get myself to a point that I can become a pitcher.”

Tutt has played softball for about 10 years, but she made her early mark as a first baseman and third baseman.

Last year, she shared pitching duties with Hannah Bell, the Wildcats’ talented sophomore shortstop.

“Once I started my first game of my junior … season, I realized that it was something that clicked for me,” Tutt said.

Tutt took a shortcut to mastering the position.

“I mostly skipped the form part of learning pitching and got to the types of spins and types of pitches that I needed to learn to be effective when I’m in a game,” she said.

Mt. Spokane coach Carl Adams said he loves the quick progression.

“She’s improved, I feel like, especially in the last 1 1/2 or two weeks,” Adams said. “The week before (spring) break, she kind of flipped the switch a little bit and it continued (Tuesday against U-Hi).”

Tutt will play next year at Bellevue Community College. She started emailing coach Leah Francis two years ago and is now considered a future pitcher for the Bulldogs.

Colfax plays big numbers game

Colfax’s numbers through six games definitely stand out – a .497 team batting average, 69 strikeouts in 32 innings by the pitching staff, one error in six games – but the Bulldogs have always been a standout group.

Colfax has won the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s academic championship for 2B softball in two of the last three seasons, getting edged out by Northeast League neighbor Davenport last season.

“What I am most proud of are the seven seniors on the team,” Colfax coach Terry Eng said of Jolee Aeschliman, Erica Eng, Kori Goodwin, Andra Hamilton, Amara Huber, Kindra Kneale and Brittany Lewis. “They have taken this team and made it their own. They are managing it very nicely. … What they do filters down to the younger players and it makes it easier to coach in the future.”

Colfax improved to 8-0 on Tuesday with a 15-1, 9-0 sweep at Kettle Falls. The Bulldogs have outscored rivals 126-3.

“I’m proud of what the girls have accomplished so far, but this is a long season and we still have some very tough games ahead of us,” Eng said.