Hawks have an appetite for destruction

Kathryn Bradford, Maddy Bradford and Hannah Wallis went a combined 12 for 14 from the plate, and the No. 4-ranked Riverhawks rattled off a season-high 24 hits in a 24-3 mercy-ruled drubbing of Redmond Friday in a softball matchup at Redmond High School.

With an 8-2 record overall and the state’s most prolific offense, the caveat to the makeup of this group is their ability to bounce back from losses.

Tuesday, the Hawks lost 5-4 to Sandy, and they took out all of their frustration on Redmond pitching.

“We continue to see the ball well and make great contact, no matter what kind of pitching we face,” said TD head coach Steve Garrett.

“We put up 13 hits against Sandy on Tuesday to their five, but today, these girls just went after it. Duane (assistant coach Witter) and I have been saying this was a team of destiny all spring, maybe now they are truly beginning to believe it for themselves,” he explained.

TD scored in all five innings of play, but got the bats swarming in the top of the first inning with nine runs on eight hits.

Kathryn Bradford and Ruthie Ford led off with back-to-back singles, and then Grace Helyer worked a walk to load the bases.

Maddy Bradford followed with an RBI single and advanced to third base on an error to give TD a 3-0 lead. Sierra Watson singled her home to run the lead to four.

Watson stole second base and scored two pitches later on a bloop single over third by Lori Cimmiyotti.

Cimmiyotti moved up to second on a passed ball and scored on a groundball single up the middle by freshman catcher Hannah Wallis for a 6-0 lead.

Kailin Hoylman then reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners for Kathryn Bradford.

The sophomore rifled a shot to the gap in left centerfield for a double, scoring Wallis and Hoylman to swell the Hawk lead to 8-0.

One out later, Maddy Bradford reached on an error, allowing the younger Bradford to cross home to cap the nine-run explosion.

TD would add five runs in the second inning, two in the third, one in the fourth, but then put an exclamation point on the game with a seven-run fifth inning.

Staked to plenty of offensive support, Watson stayed in rhythm from the circle and shut down the No. 13 Panthers.

The junior right-hander set the Panthers down for three innings with just a single and a walk.

In the fourth inning, down by a 17-0 score, Redmond tried to rally and put two runners on base on a walk and an error, but Watson struck out the final batter to end the threat.

The Panthers were finally able to put three runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning on two errors, a walk, a double and a two-run home run, but any comeback thoughts were doused after a defensive play by Wallis from her catcher’s position, and a strikeout of No. 4 hitter Hailey Burress by Watson to lock down the win.

“Hannah came up big with the pickoff at third to Gracie, and overall, we played like a team on a mission, and the Panthers were unfortunately in their road,” Garrett said.

All told, Watson yielded four hits, three walks and struck out four batters to pick up the win.

The Hawks pounded out 24 hits as a team, as the Bradford sisters and Wallis were supported by Cimmiyotti and Hoylman, who posted three hits each.

“It wasn’t just about bouncing back after Tuesday’s loss to Sandy, these girls came out today with passion,” Garrett added. “Ruthie made a sliding, diving catch on a sinking liner in the bottom of the first to light the fuse. Maddy ran the bases with extra hustle and heart, diving and sliding to make sure she was safe.”

TD (8-2 overall) hosted Glencoe Saturday, and then hosts Mac-Hi at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.