WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High School (CHS) softball program picked up two Trico League wins against La Center High School, on the road on April 28, 19-14, then at home on April 30, 9-5.
The wins solidified Columbia’s standing in the top four of the league with one week remaining in the regular season. Columbia, ranked 11th in WIAA Class 1A, is in a three-way tie for second place in the Trico with King’s Way and Kalama — each with 8-4 records in Trico play. Seton Catholic (15-2, 12-0) has clinched the Trico regular season championship.
This week, the Bruins have a two-game Trico series against Fort Vancouver High School to finish up the regular season. Game one is on the road, May 5 at 4:30 p.m., and the second game is at home, May 7 at 4 p.m. Fort is 1-11 in league play and 3-11 overall.
In game one against La Center, the Bruins (11-7, 8-4 Trico) and the Wildcats (8-9, 6-5 Trico) had a back-and-forth, high-scoring contest with plenty of hits from both sides.
CHS had a dominant fourth and sixth innings, when the Bruins scored six and nine runs, respectively, to help seal the win.
Bruin junior Julia Mullinix led the charge offensively, going 4 for 5 from the plate with six RBIs, while junior Joella Posini went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and senior Halle Kock went 1 for 5 with three RBIs. Freshman Gabby Hogue pitched a complete game for the Bruins, giving up 14 runs and 19 hits through seven innings.
In game two, CHS and La Center exchanged runs through the first and second innings, with the Bruins leading 4-3 through three innings. That’s when the Bruins rattled off five unanswered runs from innings four through six to make it 9-3. La Center responded with two runs in the top of the seventh inning, but CHS pulled out the win behind a 15-hit performance at the plate.
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