Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA - Walla Walla Community College split a NWAACC cross-regional softball twin bill here Saturday versus Shoreline, dropping the opener 3-0 before taking the 6-1 victory.

The Warriors defense faltered in the first game allowing two unearned runs on four errors in a 3-0 shutout loss. Shoreline pitcher Kim Kocik scattered four hits over seven innings, while allowing no runners past first base after the first inning.

"(Kocik) had a spinner ball that threw us off a little bit, and we didn't hit her too hard," WWCC coach Mike Staudenmaier said. "Defensively, we made a couple mistakes. Elayna (Van Hess) pitched a great game, but we didn't hit like we usually hit."

Van Hess gave up five hits and five bases-on-balls in the loss.

"Our defense played well enough, but we should have scored some runs," Van Hess said. "I think we hit the ball hard (late in the game), but it was right to people."

Whitney McFarland scored Shoreline's first run in the first inning. She drew a walk, took second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Warriors trailed 1-0 after five. Andrea McMullen tacked on Shoreline's second run in the sixth. McMullen led off the inning with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by McFarland, and advanced to third on a throwing error by first basemen Danyelle Hutchinson. One batter later, McMullen scored on a ground out to the left of the infield.

Van Hess' one charged run came on back-to-back doubles by Shoreline's Camille Depew and Moani Durant with two outs in the seventh inning.

Kocik faced only five Warrior batters above the minimum. Three times the Warriors went down to her 1-2-3.

Between games Walla Walla coaches wrote on the dugout whiteboard "You can't win games if you don't score runs."

The Warriors took that advice to heart in the 6-1 nightcap victory, scoring runs in every inning save the second.

All seven of the Warriors hits came off the bats of just three players-1-2 hitters Natalie Leyland and Shaila Rivers and 5-hole batter Hutchinson. Leyland went 3-3 with a double and two singles, Rivers reached three times on a single, a double and after being hit by a pitch, and Hutchison doubled twice.

"Leyland is our leadoff. She's hitting about .600 in four games," Staudenmaier said. "She's a good player. It seems like she's always punching the ball somewhere. The other guys got into it too. Our catcher (Rivers) and Lyndsey (Minnick) and Danyelle (Hutchison) our No. 5-hitter."

Four WWCC players reached base in the first inning, but the Warrior offense yielded only one run in the frame. Leyland led off with a single. Rivers took a wild pitch off her shoulder to put runners at first and second. An illegal pitch by Shoreline's Lindsey Walter then pushed the runners up a base.

Warrior pitcher Alexis Bobadilla grounded the next ball to shortstop, but hit Rivers in the process as she ran to third. Bobadilla reached safely, Rivers was called out and Leyland, who would have scored on the play, was returned to third base.

Bobadilla then stole second base, and the throw, which was mishandled by the shortstop, allowed Leyland to score.

The inning ended on a double play when Hutchison popped up to first base and and Bobadilla was thrown out at home trying to tag up and score.

Leyland reached base again in the third on a single, stole second, and was driven home by Rivers for the Warriors second run.

Minnick, who reached base on an error, scored on Hutchison's double in the fourth.

Leyland drove a double to the gap in left center in the fifth inning, and advanced to third on Rivers' follow-up single. Leyland scored when she and Rivers pulled off the picture-perfect double steal, and Rivers advanced to third on the throw home. Bobadilla's sac fly to deep left plated Rivers one batter later and upped the lead to 5-0.

Shoreline threatened on a single ball in the top of the sixth, as Laice Dedrick hit a long drive to deep center. But Leyland was there to make a great running catch a few feet before she slammed into the fence for the third out.

The Warriors wrapped up their scoring for the game in the sixth with a Hutchison double off the base of the wall in left center, followed by consecutive 6-4 fielder's choices.

Bobadilla pitched the Warriors to the brink of a shutout, giving up her only run on a walk and a double in the seventh.

"Bobadilla was effective," Staudenmire said. "She was battling bronchitis all week. She had a little attack when she got thrown out at home. She's a tough kid, she battled for us and kept us in the game and that's all we can ask.

"That's a good club," he continued. "We've played four pretty good clubs to start off the season and we're 4-4. We're not really happy where we're at, but we're playing a lot of players to see where we need to be as we go into league.

"We played a lot tougher in the second game. The first game was a matter of defensive play, which we're usually very good at, but we just didn't do it. Hitting will always come around."

Walla Walla is off until next Satuday's NWAACC pre-conference tournament in Richland.

First Game

Shoreline 3, Walla Walla 0

Shoreline 100 001 1 - 3 5 0

Walla Walla 000 000 0 - 0 4 3

Kocik and McFarland. Van Hess and Rivers.

HR - none.

Hits - Shoreline: Depew 2, Dedrick, McMullen, Durant. Walla Walla: Leyland, Bobadilla, Rivers, Sampson.

Second Game

Walla Walla 6, Shoreline 1

Shoreline 000 000 1 - 1 2 2

Walla Walla 101 121 x - 6 7 0

Walter and O'Hara. Bobadilla and Rivers.

HR - none.

Hits - Shoreline: Dedrick, McMullen, O'Hara. Walla Walla: Leyland 3, Rivers 2, Hutchison 2.