Trailblazers get swept by Storm, then sweep Riverhawks
It was a tale of two home doubleheaders for the Centralia College softball team, falling on Friday afternoon to Chemeketa by 9-7 and 13-11 verdicts, then behind a pair of Centralia High School alums Makayla Chavez and Gracie Schofield, allowed them to upend Umpqua 2-1 and 10-7 on Saturday.
All of the offense in Game 1 against the Riverhawks came late. An RBI single put them in front 1-0 and prior to the bottom of the seventh, the Trailblazers had just three hits and left eight runners on base. It took one swing from Chavez to change everything.
With two outs and a 2-1 count, the CC shortstop blasted a walk-off two-run home run. The Blazers drew seven walks, three of them by Sara Haury, and Schofield plus Natalie Loose also notched a hit in the win. Starter Ava Hernandez tossed a complete game in the circle with eight strikeouts.
In the nightcap, CC (7-5) erupted for five runs in the fifth to take the lead for good. Back-to-back walks kickstarted the frame that led to run-scoring hits from Haury, Loose, Lena Fragner and Sheridan Hammons. Schofield's two hits were a double and a home run while also driving in three runs, scoring three times and drawing two walks
Loose finished 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs plus in the circle, Emma Hoffmeister struck out five in five innings of work. Hernandez pitched the final two innings for the save.
The Trailblazers offense woke up too late in Friday's opener versus Chemeketa, cutting a six-run deficit to two with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. They could not take advantage of a one-out walk in the seventh and left the tying run at the plate.
Schofield shined in this one as well, recording a double and a home run with four RBIs and a stolen base. Macey Fluetsch also registered a double and drove in two runs, but CC struggled with runners on base, stranding nine.
Game 2 versus the Storm was a thriller that featured six runs in the bottom of the seventh that sent the game into extras. W.F. West grad Lena Fragner jumpstarted the rally with a two-run double followed by RBI singles from Hoffmeister, Haury and Michaela Dueck and then Chavez drew a bases loaded RBI walk.
Dueck tied the game again with a run-scoring base hit in the eighth, but Chemeketa's Megan Trissell launched a two-run homer in the ninth to give it the lead. CC went 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning.
Fragner went 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of doubles and three RBIs while Haury notched three hits and drew three walks. Three other CC batters recorded two hits and in the circle, Hoffmeister struck out nine in relief.
The Blazers will play four more games this weekend, battling Clark on the road on Friday and host Clackamas on Saturday.