TD softball gets a home win against Bend

“I think we hit the ball well overall. They did a really phenomenal job of listening to the calls and making the right plays when they were up to bat. Some of our big hitters did some phenomenal things, we did a good job of being aggressive on the bases and we had several players put some bunts down, sacrificing themselves for the better of the team.”

Kathryn Bradford posted three hits, scored two runs and stole a base, Lauryn Belanger added two hits, a walk and two runs, and senior slugger Emma Weir went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs.

Through the first four innings, both teams were deadlocked at 5-apiece, until the Riverhawks staged a five-run fifth-inning rally to put away the Lava Bears.

In that frame, Belanger led off with a single, Bailey LeBreton drove her in with an RBI double and then Jodi Thomasian added an RBI single to cash in LeBreton, giving TD a 7-5 lead.

Two outs later, Bradford singled, and Weir hammered a 235-foot home run to deep left centerfield to cap the scoring barrage.

Ahead by five runs in the bottom of the sixth, TD added an insurance marker, as Belanger reached on a one-out walk and later scored on an error.

The 11 hits and 11 runs were more than enough for LeBreton, who tossed a complete-game seven-hitter with nine strikeouts, four walks and two hit batters.

From the fifth inning on, LeBreton struck out four and held Bend to one hit and also hit a batter, but no other runners advanced past second base.

Emma Mone racked up two hits, scored twice and drove in two runs, Erin Conrad had two hits, and McKenzie Bradley and Kaitlyn Lapham scored a run apiece.

“I thought Bailey did a good job for us,” said teammate Ella Salvatori. “We played good defense and made sure to help out in the field. It was nice for us to get pitching and defense.”

LeBreton was 1 for 1 with a double, a run and an RBI to go with three walks, Thomasian had a hit, a run and an RBI, Hannah Wallis added a 1 for 3 split with a walk and a run scored, Audrey Synon went 1 for 2 with a run, and Kilee Hoylman reached on a walk and scored a run.

“We have more work to do, but it was really good to win this game,” Salvatori said. “We just have to keep it going.”

In the nightcap, Bend and The Dalles played to a 3-3 tie through seven innings, as time constraints cut the game short.

Hoylman, in as a reliever, limited Bend to three hits and struck out four batters, including the final out of the seventh to stop a potential rally.

Kiser said that Hoylman is going to play a bigger role in the circle this season, so Saturday’s performance will go a long way toward helping give LeBreton some rest in doubleheaders.

“We are going to need Kilee more than ever, especially now that Audrey is out for the year with her injury,” Kiser said. “Audrey was going to pitch a little, so now that she’s out, we have only a couple of other girls with any pitching experience. We will try to get some more girls pitching, this way we can see who we can put out there for league.”

The Dalles (1-1-1 overall) hosts Redmond at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, and then hosts Ridgeview at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.