Jaya Allen strikes out 12 as Shadle Park tops Mt. Spokane in GSL opener

Jaya Allen’s pitching made up for any shortcomings Shadle Park displayed during Tuesday’s Greater Spokane League softball opener at Mt. Spokane.

Allen struck out 12 and worked out of big jams in the sixth and seventh innings as the Highlanders, last year’s third-place team at the State 3A tournament, held off the Wildcats 7-4 on a blustery afternoon.

“The good news is we won the game,” Highlanders coach Guy Perham said. “We did not play well. We ran ourselves out of innings, but we managed to find ways to close out innings when (Mt. Spokane) could have broken it open. It was our first game. It looked like our first game.”

Shadle, limited to two singles by Mt. Spokane senior starter Kimber Tutt, took advantage of seven Wildcats infield errors. Two errors aided the Highlanders’ two-run first and three helped them add insurance with a three-run seventh.

“We need to play a little cleaner on the defensive side of the ball, that’s what it comes down to,” Wildcats coach Carl Adams said. “But credit to (the Highlanders). They put the ball in play and they made us play defense and we didn’t always do that when we needed to.”

Allen, protecting a 4-3 lead, allowed Hannah Bell’s double and walked Kaitlyn Zemke to open the bottom of the sixth. She struck out three of the next four batters to end the threat.

Allen, a sophomore, also left Wildcats on second and third in the bottom of the seventh with a comebacker and her 12th strikeout.

“She’s worked on a couple of pitches over the wintertime and has a lot of positive energy as far as throwing those very confidently in a 3-2 count,” Shadle assistant coach Cassie Nutley said of Allen. “We can still throw a moving ball and get a strike out of it.”

Shadle led 3-0 after 2 1/2 innings despite having no hits. Mt. Spokane pounded four hits off Allen in the bottom of the third, highlighted by junior Jadeyn Cronn’s two-out, two-run single to right field, to tie the game at 3.

Neither team generated much in the middle innings, as dark clouds, wind and some rain chilled the players and crowd.

Sarah Tiffany gave Shadle the lead for good in the sixth by scoring from first on a throwing error.

The Highlanders didn’t collect their second hit of the game until they led 7-1 in the seventh.

“We have some young athletes and (hitting’s) going to come in time,” Nutley said.

“This was a learning experience for all of us,” Perham said. “I can look at every position and look at stuff we need to work on.”

“What we talked about (after the game) was: Here’s where we start. Let’s see where we want to get to,” Adams said.