On the surface, Cheney High School’s 25-3 thumping of the Prosser Mustangs in softball action last Wednesday may seem to indicate potential signs of greatness.
Lady Blackhawks head coach Gary Blake is a bit more cautious in his assessment. Cheney hit the ball well for sure, but Blake noted that the Mustangs’ pitching isn’t as strong as it has been in the past.
“Certainly they (Cheney) will see some better pitching,” Blake said of the fast approaching Great Northern League schedule.
The Lady Blackhawks got all the scoring they needed in their first at bat, getting five singles, a double by Rachel Barsness, three walks, a hit batter and a Prosser fielding error to hang 10 runs on the Mustangs right off the bat. After getting set down in order in the top of the second, Cheney added nine more runs on seven hits and four walks in the third, getting run-scoring hits by Jeena Bushnell (double) and Cheyenne Hanson (triple).
Besides the offense, Blake was also pleased with the pitching performance of Madison Kallsen. Making her first high school varsity start, the freshman was jittery in the bottom of the first, giving up three straight hits, including two triples, and a pair of runs before recording her first out.
After those hits, Kallsen retired 12 batters in a row, posting 1-2-3 innings in the second, third and fourth. She gave up two hits to open the fifth, one leading to a run, before again setting the final three batters down in order to end the game.
While that impressed Blake, he was more pleased with the fact that Kallsen issued no walks over five innings.
“For a first game outing for a young pitcher, that’s pretty good,” he said.
Blake said the Lady Blackhawks swung the bats well, were aggressive at the plate and solid in the field, committing just one error. While it will take a few games to really get a sense of how Cheney will eventually pull together as a team, Thursday’s game indicated that Blake’s team is “on the right track.”
Cheney’s track through the GNL will partially be revealed as the Lady Blackhawks next four games are against league opponents. Tuesday Cheney hosted Pullman in the league-opener, and follows that up with a doubleheader Saturday in Clarkston and a single game next Tuesday at West Valley.
The Greyhounds swept a doubleheader with West Valley on Saturday and figure to be improved over last year’s 3-17 squad. Clarkston is searching for its first win, dropping a doubleheader last Friday with Riverside and losing 10-0 to East Valley on Saturday. West Valley also dropped a 5-1 decision at former GNL foe Deer Park before knocking off Idaho’s Lakeland 12-2.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)