After dropping two close games the week, the Lady Bulldogs secured a state playoff berth and sole possession of second place in league play with only two games remaining by downing host La Pine 5-2 on May 6 and visiting Pleasant Hill 10-7 on May 8.
”The top three teams go to state and we’ve now clinched, at worst, third place,” said Creswell Head Coach Brett Giles.
Destiney Black pitched an 11-strikeout game against La Pine and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits, one walk and one hit-by-pitch.
”Destiney pitched one of her better games,” Giles said.
Solid fielding backed her up: ”As a team, it was also one of our better defensive efforts,” Giles said.
The Lady Dawgs got on the board in the first inning and added three in the third as Karinna Leonard singled for her first varsity hit, followed by singles from Hallie Drago and Aubrie Hatch. Morgan Janshen’s double to centerfield scored all three baserunners as Creswell led 4-0.
In the fourth, a momentum change threatened as La Pine scored two and had bases loaded with one out. But Black struck out the next two batters to limit the damage to two runs.
The Lady Dawgs added their final run in the fifth. In the seventh, the Hawks had runners on first and second with two outs before Black recorded her 11th strikeout to end the game.
Janshen went 1-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and a run. Black went 2-for-3 with two RBIs; Hatch was 1-for-4 with two runs; Leonard was 1-for-3 and scored, Drago went 1-for-4 and scored; Abbe Grubbs was 1-for-3 and Gracelyn Ehrich was 1-for-4.
Down 3-2 after the first against Pleasant Hill, Creswell scored two in the second to take the lead; the Billies added four in the third and Creswell added three for a 7-7 score. But the Lady Dawgs held the Billies scoreless the rest of the way, and added one run in the fourth and two in the fifth for the winning margin.
Black gave up seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits – including a double and a triple, struck out nine, walked four and hit two.
”Destiney struggled a little bit early but settled down and pitched a great game,” Giles said.
Drago was 4-for-4 from the plate, with a double, two RBIs and three runs.
Hatch went 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run; Black went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run; Jenessa Mallory was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run; Janshen was 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run; Emma Maness went 2-for-4 for her first varsity hits and scored twice; Grubbs was 1-for-3 and scored; Carter Kruger was 1-for-3 with an RBI; and Ehrich was 1-for-4.
”It was a good, hard-fought game, and I believe we’re starting to round into form,” Giles said. ”We had base hits from everybody that came to the plate; we ran the bases aggressively but not out of control; and our fielders played more relaxed.”
League play wraps this week as the 15th-ranked Lady Dawgs (7-3) travel to seventh-ranked Harrisburg (9-1) and host 13th-ranked Santiam Christian (5-4).
