With the additions of slugger Alyssa Donnell and speedy leadoff hitter Kathryn Bradford, along with the consistent performances from Ruthie Ford, Maddy Bradford and Grace Helyer, The Dalles offense has been on a tear to start the regular season.
Not only are the Riverhawks the 5A division’s top-scoring offense with 61 runs scored in six games, but after wins of 11-1 and 15-5 during first-day action Monday at the Central Oregon Spring Break Tournament, they are alone at the top in the rankings.
“I am really proud of the girls and how well we played. I thought our bats really came alive in both games actually,” said Kathryn Bradford. “I think our team can do anything that we try. We have a really strong hitting lineup this season and not one of us struggles when we get up there and not one of us is scared or anything, we just make it a point to put the bat on the ball and get on base. When we can play like that, we can be very dangerous.”
In the two tournament games, Kathryn Bradford finished 8 for 8 with seven runs scored, Maddy Bradford added a 5 for 8 clip with a double and a home run.
Ford, an all-state senior, added six hits in her seven at-bats with a triple and a home run to her credit, as the Riverhawks scored 26 runs and pounded out 31 hits in 11 innings played.
Monday’s opening salvo saw the Hawks rattle off 14 hits, and the freshman pitching duo of Emily Palmer and Bailey LeBreton combined for three strikeouts, no walks, four hits and one unearned run in five innings in an 11-1 mercy-ruled win over Wilsonville.
Kathryn Bradford went 4 for 4 with a double, Sierra Watson added two hits, one double, and three RBIs, and junior standout Kailin Hoylman tallied three hits in her three at-bats to lead the 14-hit barrage.
“The girls really got after it offensively today and showed what they can do,” said TD head coach Steve Garrett. “The pitching wasn’t the best we’ve ever faced, but it was decent, and I was very proud of the girls. Coach (Duane) Witter stated it as well, when he said they came to play.”
In Monday’s nightcap, Kathryn Bradford went 4 for 4 with three runs scored, Ford added four hits, including a triple and a home run, to go along with six RBIs in the Hawks’ 15-5 six-inning triumph over Crook County.
Helyer tacked on a 2 for 3 effort with two singles, Maddy Bradford notched three hits, a home run and two singles, and Hoylman chipped in two hits, a walk and two runs scored.
All of that offensive firepower was more than enough for Maddy Bradford, who allowed five runs, two earned, on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
TD posts a home sweep over Bend
Saturday at 16th Street Ballpark in The Dalles, the Riverhawks battled it out for a two-game sweep over Bend, as they tallied 24 hits, including long home runs that traveled a combined 475-feet from Alyssa Donnell and Maddy Bradford in victories of 10-3 and 13-3.
Maddy Bradford had a single, a double and a home run to go along with three RBIs and two runs scored in the opening game, and Kathryn Bradford added a 2 for 2 split with three runs, an RBI and two walks.
TD was ahead 6-3 at the start of the fourth inning, but scored twice on the 250-foot homer by Bradford, and then tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning.
Over the final 3 2/3 innings, Bradford retired 11 batters in a row, 10 on groundouts to secure the win.
In her complete game, the senior allowed three runs, one earned, struck out five, walked one and scattered three hits, and two of those runs allowed came in the first inning.
Sierra Watson, Ruthie Ford and Lori Cimmiyotti had a hit and a run scored each, and Grace Helyer added a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI in her three at-bats.
In the nightcap, Watson went 3 for 3 with two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs, and Alyssa Donnell added a 2 for 3 effort with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs.
Down 1-0 at the start of the second inning, the Riverhawks sent 14 batters to the plate and broke the game open with 11 runs on 10 hits, including a two-run single by Donnell, a three-run double from Maddy Bradford and RBI hits from Kathryn Bradford, Watson and Cimmiyotti
Donnell capped the explosion with a two-run home run to left field to make it an 11-1 margin entering the third frame.
Cimmiyotti finished with two hits and two runs scored, Maddy Bradford had a pair of doubles and three RBIs, Kathryn Bradford was good for two hits, a run and an RBI, and the duo of Ford and Helyer had a hit and a run scored each.
After a tough 11-4 loss on St. Patrick’s Day to Beaverton, Kathryn Bradford was happy with the response level the group showed Saturday against a tough Bend squad.
“I think we all knew that it was just first-week jitters, with all of these games and all of the excitement and it totally hit us all at once,” said the sophomore. “I think we all turned it around today and came out ready to play, knowing we could do this and we stayed focused on what we needed to do to get two wins.”
The Dalles has eight more non-league games left on the schedule until the start of Columbia River Conference play on April 16 in Hermiston.
This current stretch has been impressive, but there is still a lot to work on over the coming weeks before the Hawks can consider themselves a complete team.
“If we get our fielding down a little bit more, I think we can be undefeated from now,” Donnell said. “We got to get that done. Once we can get that done we can be tough to beat. We have the pitching, we have the hitting, we have a good team, we all play our positions well and we all want to do good for each other.”
TD (5-1 overall) finished tournament play earlier today against Sherwood and North Salem.
After that, they then head out to Sandy for a single game at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29.
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