By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
EUGENE, Ore.– The Cascade Softball team had one last test before they began on their Oregon West Conference journey this upcoming week when they faced Marist Catholic Saturday in Eugene.
The Cougars jumped out to a 9-2 lead entering the bottom half of the sixth inning in Game One of the doubleheader, only to see the Spartans rally to make it a 9-7 game going into the final frame. A five-run sixth inning that put pressure on Cascade to close out the game. Something that the Cougs did, closing out what would be a 10-7 ballgame going into Game Two of Saturday’s game.
But. Marist wasn’t done yet.
The Spartans used that sixth-inning rally as fuel, as motivation almost as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second game by the end of the second inning. Cascade responded, scoring seven runs in the top half of the third inning and built a 14-7 lead by the time that the game reached the bottom of the fifth inning.
“We came out hot in the first game, and we played really well. We came out slower in the second game, but after a few innings, we got into it, and it was good. We had good energy, we picked up our energy, and we played really well, we hit pretty well,” said Pearl Pruett. “We stayed composed really well, even when they came back in both games, especially in the second game. I think we stayed composed, stayed calm, and did what we know we can do and just played to our full potential.”
Cascade has had some battles with Marist going back to the 2021-2022 season. Marist took the first meeting in Turner that first year before the Cougars took the rematch in the 4A State Title Game. The two squads split again the next year, with both teams winning the away game before Cascade took the two meetings between them last season and once again this year. The Cougars once again held on in the second game following a late game push by Marist. The Spartans scored three runs in the bottom half of the seventh inning in Cascade’s 14-10 victory.
“I think it was really good that we were able to go against a team that would push back on us, knowing that we can comeback and we can dig down and score,” said Cassidy Crabtree. “It just showed that we can come out and start good, and we can come out and push back once we get pushed. It shows our great potential, there’s so much we can do and we’ve seen a glimpse of that.”
Cascade enters OWC play undefeated at 9-0 on the year following the doubleheader sweep of Marist. The Cougars produced 22 hits to go with their 24 runs on Saturday with home runs from Crabtree, Malia Scanlan, and Amayah Miranda. Jaelyn Lowry, Maddy Tingle, Grace Wright, and Taylor Bys all pitched in the doubleheader for Cascade, combining for 13 strikeouts in the pair of victories.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
