Cheney Free Press -

CHENEY – The Lady Blackhawks slow pitch softball team’s inaugural season came to an abrupt end last Wednesday with a 7-3 loss to visiting East Valley in the first round of the Great Northern League playoffs.

Cheney took an early 2-0 lead on a first-inning RBI single by Isabella King, who eventually came around to score on a fielder’s choice. The Lady Blackhawks scored another run in the second to go up 3-0, but from there it was all East Valley.

The Knights got on the board with two runs in the fifth, took a 5-3 lead with three more in the sixth and got some insurance with two more runs in the seventh to eliminate Cheney in its first playoff appearance.

Cheney managed eight hits, two each by King and Lindsay Hagreen along with singles by Jasmine Rison, Makyla Ward and Cierra Morton. Makenna Olson took the loss in the pitching circle while the defense committed four errors behind her.

Cheney ends its first season in slow pitch play with a 6-10 Greater Spokane League record, 8-13 overall. After an 0-6 start, the Lady Blackhawks under veteran head coach Gary Blake put together a three-game winning streak followed after a loss by a four-game winning streak, helping them to a No. 3 seed in the 2A/3A playoffs.

Cheney will graduate four seniors, and could potentially return 10 players for the program’s second season in 2020.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.