CRESWELL – After an 18-2 run-rule victory in Game One of its softball doubleheader against rival Creswell, Pleasant Hill was looking to continue its offensive dominance.
In the top of the second inning of Game Two, Billies freshman Zeta Holmes crushed a ball to dead center field, and it cleared the fence for a home run. Her teammates swarmed her as she crossed home plate. Holmes was excellent in the first game as well, going 3-for-4, with a double and 5 RBI. Chants of “She’s a freshman” happened after nearly every plate appearance.
Holmes’ youth and success is unique on a broader scale, but she is one of a few on her own team who fit that archetype. Sophomore Zaira Duarte is the Billies’ usual catcher, but was playing outfield due to an ankle injury. Despite limping around the basepaths, Duarte was 5-for-7, with five runs scored and 4 RBIs over the two games. Sophomore pitcher Khloe Perkins threw all but two-thirds of an inning over the two games, and held a Bulldogs team that was averaging nearly eight runs per game to only three runs and three hits over her 7 1/3 innings pitched.
“I think it’s just a matter of them realizing how good they can be together,” Billies coach Nicki Derrick said. “If they get this figured out skill-wise, they already have the camaraderie and it’s just a great group of girls. And so I think they’re starting to realize that, to where on Friday, it was really fun because they kind of got to see how dominant they can be within a two-game span.”
The Billies (5-4) are ranked 15th in Class 3A. Derrick was impressed by the consistency her young team showed on Friday.
“It was really good to see them start and finish a game, let alone two. That was just some momentum in the right direction because I feel like, before then, they just did really good things in spurts.”
Those spurts largely have come on the offensive side of the ball. The Billies are scoring 15.7 runs per game, over two more than the next-highest scoring team in Class 3A. Derrick said her young team – whose strength is its offense – benefits from playing on the road because batting first is an advantage.
“When they get to bat first, it just gives them a lot more confidence going out into the field, and it helps take pressure off of our pitchers, take a little bit of pressure off of our defense. So I think that’s really where we get our offensive confidence going into the game and that’s when you break out and do better in a lot of situations,” Derrick said.
The numbers support Derrick’s assertion. On the road this season, the Billies have a 4-1 record and score 22.4 runs per game. No, that is not a typo. The Billies score 22.4 runs per game, and have outscored opponents by 10.6 runs per game on the road this season. That is helped by a 44-25 result against Gaston, which skews what is only a five-game sample size. The Billies’ road resume is impressive regardless.
While on its face a disappointing result, the Bulldogs ran into a Billies offense that has been scoring runs at a blistering pace. The home team bounced back impressively after the loss in the first game, trailing only 4-3 after two innings.
“The second game started off, we gave up a couple runs there and the girls immediately came back and we got into the ballgame,” Bulldogs coach Scott Worsham said. “I thought we played pretty well for a couple innings there. We were in the ballgame and competitive, so that was nice to see us bounce back after a really tough loss.”
Just like the Billies, the Bulldogs are a young team, led by their four seniors. Ten of 15 players are underclassmen. In their first league game, the Bulldogs hung with a Harrisburg team that is leading the Mountain Valley Conference.
Senior Elise Thackara has been a steady presence as the team’s top pitcher and at the plate, while sophomore Maddy Bartlett, and seniors Savannah Rook and Jordyn Marklin have all been good hitters for the Bulldogs. Senior shortstop Regan Gwaltney also made multiple impressive defensive plays in the second game on Friday.
This rivalry will only continue to improve on both sides as the teams get their young players more experience at the varsity level. Derrick expects her players to continue to grow, especially in tense moments, such as close games and those with potential postseason implications.
The teams match up again May 5 when Pleasant Hill hosts.
