It might seem hard to believe that at this point of the season a game could be considered must win, but that’s probably what The Dalles High Riverhawks were facing in a Class 5A Intermountain Conference softball matchup against the Ridgeview High Ravens on Friday.
The No. 7 ranked Hawks (1-4 IMC, 8-7), guided by first-year Coach Danielle Sayres, were in a slump with a four-game losing streak and an 0-4 league record. After losing 12-6 to the No. 12-ranked Ravens (2-3 IMC, 6-8 overall) in the first game of an April 22 home doubleheader, it was crucial for the Hawks to win the second game.
“We struggled a little bit, but you have good games, and you have bad games, which is typically what happens in softball,” said Sayres. “You always want to at least get a split of a doubleheader, so it was nice to end the losing streak. We had a tough start to our season with three games in row versus (league-leading) Pendleton.”
The Hawks responded well to the challenge, as they snapped their losing streak with a 12-5 win over the Ravens at 16th Street Ballpark in The Dalles.
“Hopefully, we’ll continue moving up from here,” said Sayres. “When you see a team take a loss like we did and then come back to win the next game, it always proves that they’re willing to come back and battle. That’s good, because it shows that they’ve got heart and determination and that will definitely help us in going forward.”
Led by junior hurler Ella Smith (two strikeouts, seven hits allowed) who pitched a complete game for the first time this year, the Hawks had a great start. The Hawks’ defense was solid early in the contest, as Smith threw just seven pitches in the first inning and the Ravens went down 1-2-3.
“It was definitely the best game that I’ve pitched this year,” said Smith. “We had a great start, we played good defense and it was a good game. It was important to get a win, especially after losing our first four league games. If we keep up our mentality of playing good defense in every game, then I think we can get a win streak going.”
The Hawks came out swinging in the bottom of the first inning to get a lead. Freshman Despina Seufalemua (3-for-4, six RBI) smashed a three-run homer over the 190-foot right field fence, putting The Dalles in front, 3-0.
“We just weren’t hitting to our potential in the first game, and we had a couple of errors, but we came back in the second game,” said Seufalemua, who has six home runs this year. “It was important to win the second game, because it really was a must-win situation for us, and we had fun. It always feels nice to hit home runs. We just need to come into our games with a better mentality and hopefully, we’ll start a winning streak.”
The Hawks extended their lead in the fifth, again highlighted by Seufalemua, who hit a two-RBI single, to help The Dalles build a 5-0 advantage.
Ridgeview didn’t have any baserunners in the first three innings, but the Ravens started clicking offensively in the fourth with four hits and two runs. But the Hawks answered with an offensive explosion in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by RBI singles by Seufalemua, Jeilane Stewart (1-for-3) and Kaylee Fleming (2-for-4, two singles), and a two-RBI single by Zoe LeBreton (2-for-5, two singles). A sacrifice-fly RBI by Maddie Brock (1-for-3, single) capped the impressive scoring spree that concluded with an insurmountable 12-2 Hawks’ lead.
On April 19, versus the No. 1 ranked Pendleton High Buckaroos (5-0 IMC, 13-1), the Hawks suffered their most lopsided defeat this year, 14-1, at home. Buckaroo senior pitcher Sauren Garton had 11 strikeouts and tossed a one-hitter to help lead Pendleton to the victory. Sophomore Keliani Crichton-Tunai had the lone hit for the Hawks with her third-inning home run.
“It was a tough game, and we had a couple of bad breaks, but we’re a young team and I think the girls just had a little bit of a letdown,” said Sayres. “Pendleton is definitely the best team that we’ve played this year. She’s (Garton) refined, she’s a senior and she’s going to play in college, so she has all her pitches, and she knows what she wants to throw.”
Garton, who throws a 62 mile-per-hour fastball, has three no-hitters and another combined no-hitter with freshman pitcher Kendall Murphy. In an April 15 contest versus The Dalles in Pendleton, Garton set a school record with 20 strikeouts. Garton also had 17 strikeouts in the first game of the doubleheader against The Dalles. Garton has earned an athletic scholarship to attend NCAA Division I Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, where she’ll continue her softball career with the Trailblazers.
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